Another season of SEC football season has come and gone and Alabama has shown its football prowess to come out on top, again. Growing up, I never had any great affection for the Crimson Tide. I grew up on pro football delayed and replayed on a 16-inch Admiral color television set. My team as a kid back in those days was the 49ers, although most of their home games were blacked-out in our area. How times have changed in the way sports is marketed today. 

     Patti and I are both Razorback alumni. Patti, more than me, is a passionate Hog fan. She’s never one to back down when challenged to call the hogs – usually to our children’s embarrassment. Our affection for Alabama came only when we started writing checks to the school in 2004. Both our children, Brian and Kinsey, attended the “other” UofA, Bama.

     And as it says in the book of Matthew, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Or as the bumper sticker says, “My kids and my money go to Bama.” I’m glad to see my investment is paying off in Waterford crystal.

     Alabama, back in the ’60s and ’70s was, of course, well known for renowned coach Bear Bryant. Bryant was originally from Fordyce, Arkansas, my father’s home state and where I would eventually be transplanted. Bryant’s leadership and poise on and off the field was legendary. His salt-of-the-earth, country-styled wisdom resulted in many of his famous quotes living on on the walls of locker rooms, business offices and boardrooms today.

     Two of his more famous quotes I enjoy are: “If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride – and never quit – you’ll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards.” And, “Set goals – high goals for you and your organization.

     When your organization has a goal to shoot for, you create teamwork, people working for a common good.” Intentional or not, Bryant’s wisdom has found its way well beyond the football field and into enduring life lessons.

     Ken Smith, a preacher and former Chaplin for the Florida State Seminole football team, spoke to a gathering at First Baptist Church Brookhaven Saturday.

     An accomplished orator and humorist, most of the stories and anecdotes Ken shared with the audience revolved around his dealing with various football celebrities and characters, both the famous and the infamous. Ken’s message, like that of The Bear, was ultimately less about the game of football and more about the game of life – In Ken’s message, eternal life.

     Ken graduated high school in Starkville, got a Bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, a Master’s from Southern Baptist Seminary and a Graduate Specialist degree from Mississippi State University. Ken has been behind the pulpit since the mid-’70S. He continues to speak, preaching over 30 meetings each year. He is active in preaching and speaking for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

     Much of Ken’s time away from the pulpit was obviously spent on the sidelines and in the locker rooms of some of the most storied football programs throughout the south.

     Ken had the unique privilege to work side by side with some of today’s biggest names in college football. But Ken’s praises weren’t just for those recognized as game-changes on the field, but rather those special individuals who took their playing and coaching to a higher level and became game-changers in the lives of young men struggling to find their way.

     The game of football can often be trivialized. It is, as we all know, just a game. And as a good friend of mine who happens to be a zealous Tide fan likes to say, “I love football, but I’m not going to let a bunch of 20 year-old kids do anything to ruin my day.” 

     To many fans however, especially in the South, football is sometimes nonchalantly referred to as a religion. To be clear, accomplishments in the game of football, even SEC football, will get no one through the pearly gates. But the lessons the game can teach and the influence achievers in the game can make, can have a significant influence on lost men in finding grace and forgiveness through Christ.

     Ken likened coaching to mission work. I think Ken might also agree with the Coach Bryant when he said, “Mama wanted me to be a preacher. I told her coachin’ and preachin’ were a lot alike.”

     Rick Reynolds is president/publisher of The Daily Leader. Contact him at rreynolds@dailyleader.com.