Lions not praying for a win

by Brian VanOchten | The Grand Rapids Press

ALLEN PARK -- The pregame ritual each Sunday morning throughout the NFL season is the same in the Detroit Lions locker room.

It starts with a prayer session.

An hour and a half before kickoff, a strong fellowship of Christian athletes on the team, including placekicker Jason Hanson and quarterback Dan Orlovsky, comes together for a purposeful moment and asks for the Lord's blessing upon all players, regardless of their religious beliefs, before hitting the field.

They pray for protection from catastrophic injuries.

They pray for each other, for their families, for safe travels, for guidance on and off the field and for God's will to be done regardless of the final score.

Sometimes they even pray for a win.

Will God grant a win?
"Oh, sure. There's a bunch of us here who are Christians. We're saying that God is at work in our lives, and football is big part of our lives right now," Hanson said. "We want to do our jobs well, we want to win. Losing is terrible.

"I've thought about that," he said of seeking the Lord's help to prevent the Lions (0-14) from becoming the first team in NFL history to go 0-16. "I've been here for 17 years. I've been through a lot of losing seasons. Every single person in this locker room wants to win. We're all so sick and tired of losing."

It might require divine intervention to get that win.

The Lions meet the New Orleans Saints at 1 p.m. in the regular-season home finale at Ford Field this afternoon.

Detroit has dropped 15 games in a row and 21 of 22 under coach Rod Marinelli since the middle of last season.

It's not asking too much for one little win, right?

"I think He cares about how you play, how you do your job," Orlovsky said. "I just pray that God's will is done. I pray that He can be seen through me. I realize that I'm not playing for fame or fortune. I realize that I am where I am for a reason -- even if the reason isn't clear to me at the time.

"I never ask for a win or anything like that."

At least not for selfish purposes.

Orlovsky can't help but pray, though, for an end to the suffering that teammates like Hanson, 38, the longest-tenured player in franchise history, have endured.

"The Lord must think really strongly about Jason to let him go through what he's gone through," said Orlovsky, who has experienced just five winning seasons with the Lions since being drafted in 1992.

The Lions are 101-169 during that period.

Tough times for Hanson
"I don't think He cares about wins and losses, but God is at work in the NFL, just like everywhere else," said Hanson, the seventh-leading scorer in NFL history.

Orlovsky is living proof of it.

In high school and college, he said he drifted from his Catholic upbringing, focusing too much on football and not enough on a better balance in life. He became a born-again Christian after joining the Lions.

He attends Bible studies on Fridays and chapel services Sunday mornings that include about 35-40 players, coaches and staff on a regular basis.

"I got saved Sept. 23, 2006. It has been an awesome process," Orlovsky said.

"(Former starting quarterback) Jon (Kitna) has been good to me. Jason, Nick Harris, Brian Calhoun, Don Muhlbach, Mike Furrey have been awesome. Jon and Mike and Josh McCown, when he was here, were a big part of that."

His faith, he insists, has made him a better player.

He said talking to the Lord while he is on the field helps him remain sharp, but calm. It is that spiritual relationship that gives him inner strength.

"I'm clear in my mind when I'm talking to Him," Orlovsky said. "It helps me to focus and concentrate on the big prize. It completely calms me."

It's not foolproof, though.

As further evidence that God isn't keeping a score, Orlovsky is reminded that he ran out of the back of the end zone Oct. 12 in the first quarter of his first NFL start.

It resulted in a safety, which ended up being the difference in a heartbreaking 12-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on the road.

How did he explain that mental block to the Lord?

"We haven't talked about it yet," he said with a smile. "I just think that without my faith, I wouldn't have been able to get through the last three years here."