{"id":8716432,"date":"2023-01-14T06:05:34","date_gmt":"2023-01-14T14:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8716432&preview=true&preview_id=8716432"},"modified":"2023-01-15T10:04:31","modified_gmt":"2023-01-15T18:04:31","slug":"how-christian-mccaffrey-became-football-obsessed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/14\/how-christian-mccaffrey-became-football-obsessed\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian McCaffrey turned the 49ers’ season around. Here’s where he got his football ‘obsession’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christian McCaffrey was 7 years old, deep enough into his first season of tackle football that he knew how to put on his equipment.<\/p>\n

The Parker Hawks faced the Cherry Creek Bruins in Colorado\u2019s Arapahoe Youth League, and to McCaffrey, the game held an importance he didn\u2019t understand until it was over.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had lost bad earlier in the year to Cherry Creek in what we called the Super Bowl,\u201d McCaffrey told this news organization in a recent exclusive interview. \u201cIn my head, it\u2019s a big game. It\u2019s like a blizzard, with just parents on the sideline. My dad was coaching my older brother on another field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember my mom was there. Long story short, it comes down to the end and I tip the ball away on defense to win the game. I started crying. I\u2019d never had an emotion like that in my life.\u00a0 I was 7 years old. I didn\u2019t even know what emotions were yet. Joy to the extent of crying? I just knew right then I wanted to do this for my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo of then Denver Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, left, joking around with his 5-year-old son, Christian, and wife Lisa in the family’s kitchen in the southeast Denver suburb of Parker, Colo., in this photograph taken on Aug. 16, 2000. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nineteen years later, the real Super Bowl beckons on Feb. 12 with McCaffrey as the versatile offensive star for the 49ers.\u00a0 The road to Super Bowl LVII begins Saturday when the 49ers (13-4) host the Seattle Seahawks (9-8) at Levi\u2019s Stadium at 1:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

A lot of things have gone right for the 49ers to run the table on the regular season after a 3-4 start, but none are bigger than the Oct. 20 trade with the Carolina Panthers that brought the former Stanford star back to the Bay Area.<\/p>\n

Coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch served notice they were all-in for a run at the title when they shipped a sizable chunk of draft capital (second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024) to Carolina in exchange for McCaffrey.<\/p>\n

After playing a bit part in a 44-23 loss to the Chiefs two days after arriving, McCaffrey became a featured back the following week against the Los Angeles Rams. He rushed for 94 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown, caught eight passes for 55 yards and a touchdown and even threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk.<\/p>\n

\"San
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, left, passes for a touchdown on a trick play as Los Angeles Rams cornerback Troy Hill watches during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Gregory Bull) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 49ers haven\u2019t lost since.<\/p>\n

McCaffrey has scored 10 touchdowns during the 10-game win streak, rushed for 749 yards on 159 carries and caught 52 passes for 464 yards with the 49ers.\u00a0 When you add in his pre-trade Carolina numbers, he\u2019s having one of his best seasons since being the No. 8 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

Given McCaffrey\u2019s injury history — he missed 22 games in the 2020 and 2021 seasons after heavy use in 2018-19 — there wasn\u2019t anything close to acclamation for the 49ers’ deal when it was made.<\/p>\n

There was never doubt, however, about McCaffrey\u2019s willingness to work and prepare. Teammates at every stop consider it legendary \u2013 traits born of an emphasis on school and multiple sports with four boys who all went on to play college football.<\/p>\n

Ed McCaffrey played at Stanford and 12 years in the NFL with the Giants, 49ers and Broncos. Lisa McCaffrey, Ed\u2019s wife, was a soccer player at Stanford. Her father was an Olympic sprinter.<\/p>\n

Lynch, a teammate of Ed McCaffrey at Stanford, saw the dynamic up close when he and his family were invited to a McCaffrey barbecue after he joined the Denver Broncos in 2004. The McCaffrey boys \u2013 Max, Christian, Dylan and Luke ranged in age from 10 to 5. They were well-mannered but also hyper-competitive.<\/p>\n

Lynch\u2019s son Jake, who later played football at Stanford, grew up with three sisters and was in no way prepared for the McCaffrey experience during playtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it was time for dinner, Eddie and I went to get them, and Jake looked like he had seen a ghost,\u201d Lynch said. \u201cI said, ‘Jake, what\u2019s going on buddy?\u2019 He said, ‘Dad, they\u2019re killing each other!\u2019 It was dog-eat-dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christian went on to be one of the most celebrated high school athletes in the Denver area at Valor Christian in nearby Highlands Ranch and accepted a scholarship to Stanford like his father. David Shaw, the Stanford coach and a teammate of both Ed McCaffrey and Lynch at the school, learned quickly that McCaffrey\u2019s special gifts included rocket fuel in terms of competitive nature.<\/p>\n

When Stanford assistant Tavita Pritchard went on a recruiting visit for a Valor game, he called Shaw and told him he\u2019d just seen a player who got mad every time he was tackled.<\/p>\n

\"Stanford's
Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey (5) looks for running room against Cal’s Jaylinn Hawkins (6) in the first half of the 119th Big Game at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016. (Dan Honda\/Bay Area News Group) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t think anyone should be able to tackle him,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cHis parents taught the kids to be the best kids they could be, to do well in school and compete like crazy. It\u2019s a competitive family. But there\u2019s also some nature in there. This guy\u2019s a killer. He\u2019s not faking it. He\u2019s not putting it on. It\u2019s just who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Christian jokes \u201cwe were bred to play football,\u201d in reality the boys were urged to play all sports growing up.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe played football, basketball, baseball and lacrosse. He ran track. Played soccer at a real young age. Lisa was his coach when he was 3, 4 and 5,” Ed McCaffrey said in a phone interview. “He would fall in love with whatever sport he was playing at the time, but I think football was always his true love.\u201d<\/p>\n

But while Christian had varied interests, he wasn\u2019t always open to new ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Christian loves something, he\u2019s all-in. That\u2019s true in sports, it\u2019s true in the classroom, it\u2019s true in life,\u201d Ed McCaffrey said. \u201cBut if he\u2019s not interested in something, it\u2019s like pulling teeth to get him to participate. He knew we wouldn\u2019t allow him to play sports if he didn\u2019t do well in the classroom, but he was miserable if it was a topic he didn\u2019t care about.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a youth, Christian began piano lessons and was having none of it. The idea was aborted. But lo and behold, when a neighbor Christian\u2019s age moved in and played the piano, his interest was piqued.<\/p>\n

Maybe it was, as Christian later said, he was told \u201cpiano players get the girls.\u201d Or that he realized he could play without the tedium of learning to read music. Either way, McCaffrey was hooked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe became obsessed with the piano,\u201d Ed McCaffrey said.<\/p>\n