At 3 years old, Rodney Anderson stood in the back of the hallway in his Houston home and waited while his parents took their places at the other end.
With all the fanfare they could muster, Rod and Jobie Anderson yelled down the hall, mimicking the PA announcers
“Starting at running back, No. 22, RODNEY ANDERSON,” Rod would shout, giving his son Emmitt Smith’s jersey number.
Nearly two decades later, the former Oklahoma running back smiles and laughs at the memory from his place at podium No. 5 in the cavernous room at the Indiana Convention Center.