Dever Broncos' CJ Anderson Makes PBA Debut in Oklahoma City

6/18/2016

Super Bowl-winning running back is taking his bowling experiences seriously


Oklahoma City, OK - CJ Anderson, who helped the underdog Denver Broncos upset the heavily favored Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, made his debut in Professional Bowlers Association competition in the PBA Planet Bowl Southwest Open in Oklahoma City, and is already making plans for his second appearance in the Downums Waste Services PBA Jonesboro Open presented by Xtra Frame at Jonesboro Bowling Center in Jonesboro, Ark., June 3-5.

The fact that he tied for 64th place out of 71 entries doesn't bother him a bit. The fact that he averaged a modest 173.8 for his first eight games in a PBA Regional tournament for players in the southwest area of the U.S. is nothing more than a learning experience. Being an underdog is nothing new for the 25-year-old Anderson, who signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of the University of California in 2013, and three years later was wearing a Super Bowl ring.

Bowling at the highest level is just another challenge Anderson decided he wanted undertake as a personal yardstick. Competing against bowlers who have grown up with a sport that Anderson just took up three years ago isn't exactly the same as running into a wall of 300-pound linemen, but it's less painful and a whole lot more fun.

"It was fun," Anderson said of his PBA debut. "I learned a lot. That was my first time bowling in a PBA event. It was the first time I've bowled on the Cheetah lane pretty happy.
Anderson bowls a lot, and he's under the watchful eye of a PBA member and veteran regional competitor Brett Cooper unorthodox "wrong-foot" delivery was first noted. U nlike tr ad itio nal r ig ht- handed bowlers who finish
their approach by sliding on their left foot, Anderson slides on his right foot. Cooper and Boomershine are trying to help Anderson maximize his style rather than try to change it.

"It's comfortable for me," Anderson said."That's the way I've bowled since I started. It's a matter of execution - staying down, hitting your target, all that stuff. I'm using the same tools Pete Weber, Norm Duke, all those guys use, so if I executive the shot, I get the same result. condition. Bowling on a short (35-foot) pattern like that was not my best, but my last four games were higher than my first four, so I was happy with that.

"It's a matter of my needing to know what to do as the pattern breaks down, so that's what I was working on," he said. "I've only been bowling for three years, so to put myself in position to bowl in an plateau in early June in Jonesboro, where a stronger field of PBA Tour champions is expected to compete for a PBA Tour title along with a $15,000 first prize. He also hopes his experience practicing with Cooper on a wide range of PBA animal patterns, including the longer oiling patterns that power players tend to favor, will suit his game better. "I understand the Jonesboro tournament will be a long pattern," Anderson said. "That means I'll get to throw my heavy stuff, like I like to throw, so I think the outcome will be a little better for me.

"I 'm j ust happy to be part of it," he concluded. "My goal is to get better and win, and I've got the right people in my corner."

Article was posted with permission from Stars & Strikes, America's Bowling Newsmagazine. www.starsandstrikesbowling.com