10 Facts You Didn’t Know About Christian McCaffrey
We’re so excited to officially announce our partnership with Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey! Though he’s only entering his third year in the NFL, McCaffery is already making waves in the football world, with publications like The Ringer calling him “the future of football.” Keep reading to brush up on your McCaffrey knowledge - we guarantee some of these facts will surprise you.
Football runs in the family.
McCaffrey isn’t the first man in his family to play for the NFL: his father, Ed McCaffrey, was a wide receiver in the NFL for thirteen seasons and played for the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, and the Denver Broncos. Christian calls his father a “huge influence” and says that “he would be there if I ever had any questions but he always let me be my own person…[he taught me] how to be a good guy on and off the field.”
Family is everything.
McCaffrey grew up with three brothers, who he calls “his best friends in the world.” He talks to his mom on the phone everyday - “she’s a great ear and a big light for all of us” and turns to his dad for wisdom and advice. And after every home game, he eats a home-cooked meal with his family.
He dabbles with music.
In his free time, you can catch McCaffrey playing the piano or the harmonica. “If you ever need some peace and quiet and to get away from everything, it’s a good thing to do,” he says of his musical hobby. Check out his musical talents on his Instagram, where he has videos of himself playing the piano and covering Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” on the harmonica. Pretty impressive!
He loves North Carolina.
A Denver native, McCaffrey arrived in Charlotte, NC after being chosen #8 overall in the 2017 Draft.. Luckily, he’s a fan: “I love it. It’s such an easy place to live. Everyone is super nice. The food’s good, the weather’s good. I’ve got no complaints.”
Doritos are his guilty pleasure, too.
Given his rigorous training schedule, McCaffrey doesn’t exactly have the most flexible diet - in his words, everything he eats is “pertinent to what I need for my best performance.” However, he’s only human, and just like us, he has a guilty pleasure: Doritos. “If I have one Dorito, I’ll eat the entire king-size bag. Zero self-control.”
He’s all about the recovery.
Though McCaffrey trains vigorously and diligently, he cites his recovery process as one of the most important elements in his regime. “It really felt like I had a harder time recovering in college, taking a pounding all the time.” Now, McCaffrey has recovery down to a science: “I’ll have hands on me everyday [after the season]. I’ll have chiropractors, soft tissue specialists, masseuse...I’ll do IV fluids, I’ll do my blood testing, I’ll do my imaging.”
He’s the executive producer of a documentary.
You heard that right - alongside his football and music cachet, McCaffrey also has a producer credit on his resume. The film, titled “Unicorn Town”, follows an American playing for a German football team and is directed by McCaffrey’s pal and fellow footballer Nick Alfieri. “I minored in film in college, so I’ve always been into movies and TV shows,” says McCaffrey of his role as producer. Catch the trailer for “Unicorn Town” on McCaffrey’s Instagram.
He broke records in college.
McCaffrey had a pretty legendary sophomore season at Stanford. He broke Barry Sanders’s NCAA record of 3,250 all-purpose yards, finishing with 3,864. He also became the first Stanford player to rush for 2000 after ranking second in the nation with 2,019 rushing yards. McCaffrey set numerous other Stanford records during the season, including rushing yards in a single game (243) and all-purpose yards in a game (461).
He’s a fan favorite in fantasy football.
Fantasy football season is approaching fast, and after McCaffrey ranked as one of the top fantasy players in the NFL last season, it’s no surprise that fantasy experts are predicting he’ll be a top choice yet again with little risk. Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer writes that “he deserves to be the Panthers’ highest draft choice in every fantasy league.”
We hope you enjoyed learning more about Christian McCaffrey and we can’t wait to see where our partnership with him takes us. Remember to follow @flagandanthemco and @christianmccaffrey on social media to stay updated on all things Flag & Anthem and Christian-related.
Sources:
“Panthers Wire 1-on-1: Christian McCaffrey answers 22 questions.” Panthers Wire
“Hang Time: Christian McCaffrey does it all.” ESPN
“Christian McCaffrey: After every home game, there’s a home cooked meal.” WCNC
“The Real-Life Diet of Christian McCaffrey, Whose Arms Just Went Viral.” GQ
“Christian McCaffrey executive produced a new documentary about football in Germany.” Panthers.com