laser-focus – not just fast and strong,
but driven in a way others in the NFL
often are not. How else to explain how
Hogan, passed over during the NFL
draft, could be signed and released by
three teams, including the New York
Giants, in 2011 and yet not be deterred.
“Chris just had a high motor,” his
father Jim, said in February. “He
wanted to be first in everything he
did. He wanted to win every race that
was run. If we played tag outside or
manhunt, he wanted to win. When
we got into sports, it was pretty all
consuming. He just had that attitude
that ‘I can’t lose.’”
A less motivated athlete might’ve
started shopping for a Plan B outside
of football after 2011, but Hogan
pushed on, signing with the Buffalo
Bills in 2012. There, his career gained
traction; he spent three years building
street cred, including 36 receptions
and career-high 450 yards and two
touchdowns in 2015.
That’s when Hogan caught the
attention of Bill Belichick, the Patriots’
legendary coach, who liked everything
he saw in Hogan from afar. Belichick is
a notorious out-of-the-box thinker who
didn’t care that Hogan hadn’t come
from a major college football program,
was already in his late 20s (now 29) and
was still only modestly successful by the
NFL’s standards.
Belichick nevertheless sensed what
everyone back home in New Jersey
already knew about Hogan: He had an
extra, intangible gear that would mesh
with the Patriots’ offensive scheme.
They offered Hogan a $12 million
contract, of which $7.5 million was
guaranteed. The Bills couldn’t match
it, meaning Hogan’s bond with the
Patriots was official.
Despite the team’s hot pursuit,
however, Hogan admitted to a case
of nerves the first time he stepped on
the field with Brady. It was the football
equivalent of playing catch with Babe
Ruth.
“I have to admit, I needed a moment
just to take it all in,” Hogan says. “I
mean, that’s Tom Brady. You want to
play well for him; you want him to feel
good enough about you that he’ll throw
GROWING UP (Clockwise from top) Hogan kisses his daughter Parker; helping the Penn State
men’s lacrosse team defeat Hofstra; running the ball for Ramapo High School against Northern
Valley Regional High School at Demarest at Giants Stadium in 2003.
you the ball. It’s hard not to feel that
way. He’s one of the best to ever play
the game.
“But I also saw immediately how
hard Tom worked. I was taken aback at
what a good person and teammate he
was. He doesn’t care who’s on the field
with him as long as you work as hard
as him.”
And the enigmatic, practically
non-communicative Belichick?
Hogan chuckles.
“The way coach is with the media
is the way he addresses us as a team,”
Hogan says. “There’s no messing
around here. The goals are high, the
accountability is high. The guys who
play the best will get playing time, it’s
that simple. This is not an easy team
to play for because of the work that’s
expected of you. But it does bring out
your best. I’ve worked really hard to
make sure (the Patriots) trust me.”
The sacrifices go hand-in-hand with
the stretch Hogan has to make with
Ashley, who’s on her way to becoming
a podiatrist. Now doing her residency
at North Shore Jewish Hospital in Long
Island, the couple is forced to live apart
for most of the football season. Hogan
says, “I would never ask her to give
up something like that” and move to
Boston.
The two careers are now merged by
their children and a family-first credo.
That’s why when the Patriots were cel-
ebrating like they owned the universe,
Hogan was happily invisible. A rock
star? Sure – to his wife and kids. Just
the way Hogan likes it. ●
(201) FAMILY | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
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