Faith helps New England Patriot weather ups, downs of football

Published: 2004-09-08

OMAHA, Neb. (CNS) -- Just minutes before the biggest game of his life, New England Patriot Russ Hochstein said a prayer. He fumbled in his pocket for the little finger rosary, given to him as a gift from a priest friend, and for a moment, turned to his Catholic faith. "I put it around my finger right before the Super Bowl game and prayed a decade," the former Nebraska offensive lineman told The Catholic Voice, Omaha archdiocesan newspaper, in a telephone interview. The Patriots won that Super Bowl last February over the Carolina Panthers by a score of 32-29. As he enters his fourth year in the National Football League, Hochstein continues to rely on his Catholic faith to help him deal with the instability of professional athletics and the temptations that come with "living the fast life" of money and celebrity status. "As a player it can be very hard because you get handed so many things. ... Money is king," the 26-year-old said. "So any situation that puts you in harm's way you want to avoid -- as a player and as a person."

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