SANTA CLARA – I walked over to Anthony Dixon in the locker room three minutes before he had to go to a team meeting, and I asked him if he would mind showing me what he keeps in his locker.
“The fans want to know what’s inside a famous NFL running back’s locker,” I explained.
Kendall Hunter, who was standing nearby, overheard and requested clarification.
“You said a famous NFL locker?”
“Yeah,” I confirmed.
He turned to Dixon, confused. “Whose locker used to be there?”
“He’s talking about me,” Dixon said, and they both laughed and shook hands.
“My bad,” said Hunter, and he walked to the meeting.
Dixon turned to his locker and showed me the essentials.
“I got a 5-Hour Energy,” he said, pointing to a tiny bottle in a little cubby near the top. “I got extra pads, extra gloves. I got my shoulder shocks. I got sunflower seeds. I got the Chewy Quaker bars just in case I get a little hungry. A little lotion. Got the Gold Bond. Got the powder. Got a Pedialyte. Stay hydrated. Got a toothbrush, toothpaste. Keep the smile looking good. Then I got my little hand products, my face products in the back, just in case I want to look good.”
“What are those products?” I asked.
“It’s the Premier Products,” he said, and he showed me a small blue bottle of Premier Dead Sea lotion, but I couldn’t tell if it was the moisturizer, the body butter, or the anti-aging cream.
Dixon continued: “The nice pretty girls in the middle of Valley Fair Mall hooked me up with this. Shout out to them.”
He put the lotion away and wrapped up the tour: “I have a couple candies. I usually have some candy. I got my Mississippi State shirts. I’m always representing; I’m always representing 24/7. Then I’ve got my workingman’s shirt. My blue collar button-up.”
He pulled a wrinkled blue collar button-up from a pile of laundry, pressed it against his chest a couple times, smiled and showed it to me. Then he hung it up in his locker next to his Mississippi State shirts and walked to his meeting.
That, dear Reader, is a presentation of Anthony Dixon’s locker. But mostly it’s a presentation of Anthony Dixon – the pure enthusiastic joy of him.
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