excerpt:
MOBILE, Ala. – Shaun Alexander has always had faith, both in his spiritual and athletic life. Truth is, he said Saturday at the Next Level Weekend football clinic at Ladd-Peebles Stadium with friend and former Seattle Seahawks teammate Heath Evans, he doesn’t separate one from the other.
His faith and his play were both strong last season as he produced one of the best seasons any running back has ever had in the NFL. Alexander led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, picked up the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award, and, in March, he signed a eight-year contract for $62 million, making him one of the highest paid running back in NFL history. Not bad for a guy who started the season without a contract.
As he explained Saturday, his devout religious beliefs gave him the confidence everything would work out just fine.
“God has showed us that everything is going to be OK; not just OK, but better than OK,” said Alexander, an All-American running back at Alabama in 1999. “If you are obedient and patient, you will experience victory.”
Alexander’s patience and belief paid off in big ways, not just for the Seahawks, who reached the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history, but also personally.
His record-setting 28 touchdowns came in a season in which he became the first NFL player to score at least 15 touchdowns in five consecutive seasons.
Along the way, he became the Seahawks’ all-time leading rusher – collecting 1,880 yards on a 5.1-yards-per-carry average last season, giving gave him his first NFL rushing title.
As with all his other successes, Alexander gave credit for such accomplishments to his faith.
“I know I am going to have trials and tests, but I know if I am obedient that everything is going to be OK,” he said. “It’s not something you accept sometimes, but every day in everything you do.
“I’m not the greatest athlete. I’m not the fastest or the strongest. But I know if I am obedient there is going to be victory. … God did some big things for me.”
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports...-5232981c.html
Hawks ‘going to be awesome’
Hawks ‘going to be awesome’
Linear Mode
