TR: Back in 2004 you missed the NFL rushing title by one yard. Was that a disappointment?

SA: I think the one-yard-short a couple of years ago was a little hard for me because the team we’d built ourselves around was getting it. Guys were coming up to me and saying, “Hey, I’ve never been to the Pro Bowl, but my guy can be the best.” Coaches were coming up to me and saying, “We’ve never done this.” I’ve got the great Mike Holmgren as a coach, and he’s won a Super Bowl and had MVP’s, but he’s never had a rushing title guy. So that year everybody really, really was just making it big.

At first I didn’t think it was a big deal, but after a while—after everybody else around you says, “This is big for me”—you can’t help but say, “Let’s try to go get it.” And that’s why last year was even sweeter. Not just only winning it, but blowing it away. It was a great feeling just knowing we’d all come together as a team to accomplish a great honor.

TR: I understand there’s a new children’s book called Alexander the Great. As modest as you are, I doubt that you had anything to do with the title, but what do you want this book to accomplish?

SA: You know, I’ve been blessed. In the last two years, I’ve been able to write an autobiography and a children’s book. The children’s book is with a good buddy of mine, and it all started with another children’s book he’d written. It’s about what a true hero is. A true hero is somebody who can care for somebody, and that person can give back and can impact other people’s lives for good.

The autobiography is going to be about success. Christian men will be successful. They’ll be blessed. You’ve just got to sit in there through the grooves of the great times and the bad times to let God bring the fullness of a blessing.