Last weekend became interesting for me, an Auburn graduate and fan. It became a Bama weekend that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was much more than enjoyment; it was a great blessing for me and many others in our community.

I was invited to the Rotary Club's luncheon on Friday to bring a key to the city to present to the speaker. The speaker was John Hannah, possibly the greatest offensive lineman in Bama football history. John's father, Herb Hannah, graduated from West Limestone High School, and eventually played pro ball for the Giants. John said that Tom Calvin, one of our community's outstanding athletes, was best man at his Dad's wedding.

John told many inside stories about The Bear that were interesting and hilarious. It was really a treat to hear firsthand information about the legendary coach from Hannah, who assured us that he and most others were terrified of The Bear.

John also told about being ridiculed by classmates at 9 years of age and how he determined to overcome his tormentors. He dedicated his life to becoming better than, and beating, all the competition. He swiftly became an object of admiration rather than ridicule by being better than everyone else. It made him into one of the most successful professional football players to ever play the game.

His self-esteem was in his achievements, and he knew his achievements lifted him up in the eyes of others. He then told us that at some point he met a woman, and a Savior, and that both of them loved him, not for what he had achieved, but because he was John Hannah.

He learned some lessons from this that made changes in his life. He is currently involved in his own company that trains and motivates people. I was very impressed by John's speech that day and told him so. I hope he gets to talk to a lot of groups as he did on this day, and I was proud to present him with a key to the city of Athens.

On Sunday, Siran Stacy, a former, great Bama running back, spoke to Athens First Baptist Youth Sunday school then preached at the morning worship service. In 2007, Siran was driving his family near the Dothan area, and as he pulled across an intersection, a drunk driver ran a stop sign at high speed and crashed into his van, killing his wife Ellen and four of his five children. Siran and Shelly, his 3-year-old daughter, survived. The drunk driver also was killed.

Siran described the years of physical, mental, and spiritual suffering he has endured as a result of this tragedy and how he was suicidal but finally became able to endure it. He and his wife were very close and she was the strength in his life. It was difficult to sit and listen to this man tell this story. I think everyone who heard it was very moved by it.

His entire sermon was how to endure the season of suffering. He talked about how you can be discouraged when you are trying to overcome suffering. He talked about how you think everything happens because you did something wrong. He told all of us that our worries and cares cause us suffering, but through our faith in God and perseverance, we can and will overcome the suffering. I cannot relay his message to you. You have to hear it from him and you can on the Internet at Siran Stacy Ministries.

His message is exactly what all of us who are suffering during the economic downturn or personal tragedies needs. There are few of us who have lost anything near his loss, but most of us have lost money and things that can be replaced. It is bad to lose possessions, but how terrible to lose loved ones through death, divorce, or any other way. I wish every young person in our community could have heard him talk about suffering. Siran is now involved in a full-time ministry to spread his message of hope during our bad times.

It was a good weekend for me, and it didn't involve football. The sport did pave the way for these men, but its experiences and the lessons it taught them about dealing with life brought success in different ways. Both of them will tell you how important the sport was to their lives, but I don't think either will tell you it is now the most important thing in their life today.