New England Patriots’ punter Zoltan Mesko is undoubtedly upset that his team didn’t make it to the Super Bowl again this year, but it’s hardly the toughest ordeal of his life. As Romanian refugees, Mesko’s family endured Communist oppression, deprivation and violent revolution. Mesko, who holds an M.A. from the University of Michigan, shared his family’s experience and how faith plays a role in his life in an interview with the National Catholic Register.
Courtesy of the New England Patriots/David Silverman
When asked if he found it difficult to adapt to American culture, Mesko responded:
Not really. Romania was a very harsh place to live while the communists were in power. They portray it as equality for all, but the equality you get is everyone being equally miserable. Government control of everything results in less prosperity for everyone…My mother and father are both engineers, so we had quite a bit of money. However, because of hyperinflation, the money couldn’t buy much. We lived paycheck to paycheck in Romania, so the transition to American culture wasn’t too tough. I found things to be so much easier here.
