clarinews@clarinet.com (01/16/90)
GREEN BAY, Wis. (UPI) -- John Anderson went into the 1989 Green Bay Packer season thinking it might be his last and on Monday he made it official -- it was. The 12-year veteran linebacker announced his retirement at a press conference at Packer headquarters, saying that ``my best days are in the past'' and that he wanted to leave while he could still do so on his own terms. ``It wasn't an easy decision,'' he said, ``but it's a decision I'm comfortable with.'' ``I just wanted to let you know that I won't be back next year,'' he said in his typical, understated fashion. ``I don't want to get into a situation where I wasn't playing like I felt I was capable of playing in years past. So from that standpoint, it was a decision that was not all that difficult.'' Not even the optimism over the club's future could bring him back, Anderson said. ``I've been doing that for 12 years, feeling good every time I've come back up here feeling this is the year we're going to win,'' Anderson said, adding it was not a snap decision. ``I don't think there was a day that I woke up and said this was gonna be it,'' he said. ``I went into last season thinking that if we had a good season, and if I could stay relatively healthy, that I would like this to be my last year.'' Anderson said he kept the door open, not telling head coach Lindy Infante until after the last game. ``I wanted to win, to go out on a good note and to have some great memories. This season has provided me with those memories, even more so than many of the previous years combined. From that standpoint, it wasn't a hard decision,'' he said. While the season overall was not a personal best -- a sprained ankle hampered Anderson for much of the year -- it was the best season from a winning standpoint in Anderson's years with the team. He he added it was a good one to go out on. ``Beating the Bears twice, beating San Francisco out there, just the chemistry of this team as a whole gives me a lot of good memories that will last me quite a long time,'' he said.