BUTTE — If there was ever an example of what determination and perseverance paying off looks like, look no further than Colt Anderson.
But despite all of the success, Anderson has always remained loyal to his hometown of Butte.
He was recently back in the Mining City to host his third Dream Big Montana Event skills camp at Naranche Stadium. Anderson wanting to give back to Butte and invest some time in its kids is a byproduct of his upbringing.
"It's how I was raised I guess," said Anderson, who is preparing to head into his third season as the special teams assistant coach of the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals. "Just being a Butte kid, I was taught the importance of being proud to be from Butte and the importance of giving back — both of my parents were teachers.
"Giving back to the community, specifically the kids has always been a big deal of mine. Just showing them that anything is possible with hard work and dedication."
Four months ago, Anderson was on the sidelines of SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for Super Bowl LVI, where the Bengals came up just short against the Rams, 23-20.
"We obviously fell a little short of our ultimate goal but it was an awesome season," Anderson said. "We got hot at the right time, we got a great group of guys, great group of coaches that I'm so lucky to coach with. Hopefully we can build on what we did last year and finish on top."
The experience of being on football's biggest stage was an electrifying one for Anderson and his family.
"It was amazing," Anderson said. "I told my family I was gonna try to treat it like a normal game. Obviously it wasn't. A lot more went into it with the distractions but I just kept to my routine. My family came out I was fortunate to have my family, my wife's family all of us were out there."
Anderson said he didn't let the bright lights of the Super Bowl rattle him. After all, he's been on the NFL scene as a player and coach for over a decade.
"You know, there's only been one time that I was like that it was my first time walking into Lucas Oil Stadium when I was a rookie on the Minnesota Vikings," Anderson said. "I walked out and was like 'holy cow this is what it's all about' but ever since then I felt like I belonged. I always believed in myself and even when we went to the Super Bowl it just felt right and I felt like I should be there."
