Falcons’ Super Success Comes Down to ‘Dis’

Atlanta Falcon running back Jamal Anderson is playing the no-respect role for all it’s worth leading to the Jan. 31 Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos.

“We’ve gotten a lot of disrespect,” Anderson said. “We were the first NFL team in history to play on the road in the playoffs after finishing the season 14-2. You figure that would have garnered some respect.

“We’re all people who nobody wanted or said we couldn’t play. But when we started achieving certain levels, we wanted it all. You don’t give up. You remember what it was like when people didn’t want you, when people said you weren’t good enough. That’s the way this team is.”

Trivia time: What was the largest crowd for a Super Bowl game?

Gooey gourmet: John Elway is a creature of habit, according to the Denver Post. The night before every home game he stays in the same room at the Inverness Hotel in Englewood, a suburb of Denver.

And, according to Bill Harpole, the Broncos’ director of operations, he has the same meal--macaroni and cheese.

“And he likes it cheesy, not creamy,” Harpole said.

Now you know.

Coaching mechanic: Greg Cote in the Miami Herald: “Ray Rhodes, introduced as Green Bay’s new coach, said he might ‘change a tire here, or a tire there,’ but wouldn’t ‘mess with the engine.’

“He added, ‘What you do is, pull a few sparkplugs and wipe them off. You keep the car fine-tined.’

“Rhodes immediately took over the league lead in bad metaphors.”

It’s still going: The Atlanta Falcons’ Dirty Bird touchdown dance has spawned a hot-selling--in Atlanta--rap song called “The Dirty Bird Groove.”

The record’s producer, DC the Brain Supreme (honest), admits to being a Denver native and a Bronco fan.

Faldo fade-out? Nick Faldo, on the eve of the South African PGA:

“I would like to say that getting back to No. 1 is not totally out of the question.”

Said Zimbabwe pro Mark McNulty, who watched Faldo miss the cut with rounds of 77 and 76, “I have never seen the ball struck so badly.”

Study hall: Former NBA player Marvin Barnes on why he was able to earn a lot of college credits while in prison: “There was no place I could go to cut classes.”

Wears well: From Jay Leno: “Michael Jordan’s retirement affects a lot of people. Today, Nike announced their new shoe. The new taking-the-kids-to-school-then-doing-some-work-around-the-house Jordans.”

Trivia answer: Super Bowl XIV, matching the L.A. Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers at the Rose Bowl, attracted a crowd of 103,985 on Jan. 20, 1980. The Steelers won, 31-19.

And finally: It was a bitter parting when the Vancouver Canucks traded holdout star Pavel Bure to the Florida Panthers on Sunday.

Asked if the Canucks would retire his No. 10 sweater, General Manager Brian Burke said: “The first player to ask for it can have it.”