Chase Hilgenbrinck Leaves MLS For The Priesthood, And Possibly Better Pay

We’re not ones to pass judgment on someone because they leave a seemingly great life and leave it to join the Church… and we’re certainly not going to start now. Chase Hilgenbrinck of the New England Revolution has decided to ditch the league where some players get paid as much as bloggers do (which should be illegal) and go into the Church business as a salesman… sorry, we mean a priest. Is it obvious it’s been a long time since we’ve been back, save the occasional jaunt to buy our moms some candles real quick?

“I felt called to something greater,” Hilgenbrinck said. “At one time I thought that call might be professional soccer. In the past few years, I found my soul is hungry for something else. I discerned, through prayer, that it was calling me to the Catholic Church. I do not want this call to pass me by.”

We think that’s how Beckham ended up in LA, too. Except instead of salvation, he wanted to shill Herbalife jerseys. Tomato, to-mahto.

When he was playing professional soccer in Chile, Chase Hilgenbrinck would seek comfort in the churches to satisfy his spiritual needs and remind him of childhood Sundays spent at Holy Trinity in his hometown of Bloomington, Ill.

“It’s not that I’m ready to leave soccer. I still have a great passion for the game,” he said in a telephone interview. “I wouldn’t leave the game for just any other job. I’m moving on for the Lord. I want to do the will of the Lord, I want to do what he wants for me, not what I want to do for myself.”

Plus the Lord’s got a lot better save percentage than most of the goalies in MLS, so there’s that winner factor there, too. [Ed note: Zing!]
Revolution player retires to become priest [USA Today]
Image [AP]