Victor Anderson’s rocky childhood fuelled drive to succeed in life

By Andrew Soong, October 31st, 2012

Als rookie running back Victor Anderson has been thrust into prominence amidst the more than usual list of injuries as the end of the season draws near.
“I am blessed with the opportunity to play professional football when I graduated from school,” said Anderson who played with the Lousville Cardinals of the University of Lousville in Kentucky. “The Als are a great organization and I always dreamed of playing for a professional team.”
Anderson was quickly thrust into his first CFL game in August against Edmonton delivering 102 yards as part of the Als road win over the Eskimos. However, Anderson's life was not as clear cut as his debut in the CFL. Anderson admitted that football was “also my way out.”
“Football was a way for me to get away from a tough lifestyle,” said the 5'9, 188lb rookie running back who grew-up in a family with 11 siblings in the tougher part of his home town Lousville. “My mom was not really around and my dad was a drug dealer.”
The most prominent figure in Anderson's life was his grandmother Lola Mae Reynolds. In addition to filling in for Anderson's mother, Reynolds helped mould the young athlete guiding him from the streets synonymous with drugs and gang banging. Reynold's passing from cancer served to be a life changer for the young athlete.
“When my grandmother passed it brought on a whole different outlook to get off the streets,” said Anderson who had R.I.P. Lola tattooed on his shoulder. “I had a lot of family caught-up in the streets with the gang banging and may lend up in jail or dead.”
It is also the streets that Anderson also remembers in the off-season often taking time out to serve the poor or give talks to kids in his home town. Before being signed with the Alouettes last March Anderson married his high school sweetheart and the couple are expecting their first born in January. Anderson conceded that “it's tough to be away from home at times, but the guys help me out and I'll do whatever it takes even if it's cheering from the sidelines.”