I love the relationships I have developed over the years. As one of six female athletic trainers in the @NFL, Allison Miner is living her dream. FILE - Denver Broncos trainer Steve Antonopulos, center, talks with staff members during drills at the team's NFL football training camp in Englewood, Colo., in this July 19, 2019, file photo. It was dreary. "His influence on this franchise, the athletic training profession and throughout sports is far-reaching, mentoring countless interns and staff who went on to accomplish great things. Vince Garcia, Denvers head athletic trainer, will presumably be a strong candidate to replace Greek. In July 2016, Antonopulos began the road to retirement when he took on a new role and Vince Garcia was promoted to head athletic trainer. In addition to praising fifth-year veteran Jarek Crick, Kubiak also said that the team expectsa lot of Adam Gotsis, who is less than ten months away from tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. Sign up for our newsletter and get every update delivered to your inbox! Denver's tale of the tape under Antonopulos: 941 total games (incl. Denver Broncos longtime trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos retired Monday after 45 years with the team. Visit NFL.com's transaction hub for a daily breakdown. With the Broncos, Greek transitioned to specialize in rehabilitation and was promoted to head trainer in 1980. Greeks retirement is effective immediately. Allen called me the first week of July. After the 1980 season, he was elevated to head trainer and split his old salary in half to hire two assistants. General manager John Elway toldDenver Posts Nicki Jhabvala: Elway on Gotsis: "A guy we think has a really high *ceiling. "Steve Antonopulos is what the Denver Broncos are all about," John Elway aptly summed up on the Broncos' website. I was making good money on the highway and going to college. Mercedes-Benz Stadium. I never worked a day in my life because I loved what I was doing so much and the organization was so classy. Here's a look. During an interview with The Denver Post, retiring Broncos director of sports medicine Steve Greek Antonopulos was asked for his favorite memories since joining the team in 1976: In October 1977, the Broncos traveled to face the defending Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders, who had won 17 consecutive games dating back to the previous season. "We congratulate Greek and thank him for a truly remarkable, special run with the Denver Broncos. The team announced the long-time athletic trainer's retirement on Monday. It was embarrassing, the whole concept. There are no set work hours for an athletic trainer in the NFL. You are just minutes from Greenwood & Myers Mortuary is the first choice for many families when they are seeking funeral services in Boulder. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. He had the fingernail on his thumb totally torn off and was bleeding all over the place. In Antonopulos second season, the Broncos reached their first Super Bowl, a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. His career is still going as the team's director of sports medicine. Denver Broncos trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos, who has served 45 years in the Broncos organization and was a part of the franchise's three Super Bowl victories, is retiring. The first groups have completed their weigh-ins, measurements, and drills. Antonopulos has been an athletic trainer for the Denver Broncos for a total of 941 games. Although there are many female coaches in the NFL, athletic training and strength and conditioning were among the first positions to be filled by women. Athletic trainers are witnesses to the magic and myth of extraordinary athletic feats. Antonopulos called the honor breathtaking.. Forty-five years is a long time. pic.twitter.com/uwM5i7YAAm. When I committed to come back for this past season, I told John [Elway], This is it. I love being around young people who keep me young. Sign up for the Broncos Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. Like Antonopulos, Garcia got his bachelors degree from Northern Colorado. By Tim Lynch @TimLynch1978 Jun 7, 2021, 8:50am MDT Share this story. Register now! Sleeting. And then Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City has always been one of my favorites. In my mind -- like I told him the other day -- I don't think he's retired. In this job, Ive always tried to give all I can as a father and grandfather, but its hard because your time is so confined, he said. pic.twitter.com/MB6he9cRUp, Denver Broncos (@Broncos) August 4, 2016. Found this classic can in hubs stuff. He is believed to be the longest-tenured trainer with one team in NFL history, and Greek is the. More Videos * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). The very best of medical practitioners effortlesslyblend sincere empathy and proficient treatment with their patients. During his 45-year career with the Broncos, Steve Antonopulos treated more than 1,500 players. Antonopulos joined the Broncos as assistant athletic trainer in 1976 and retired in 2021 as the teams director of sports medicine. In all those years, I never tried to figure out how many hours I worked.. In the playoffs after the 1986 season, the Broncos traveled to Cleveland to win the AFC championship game in overtime, highlighted by The Drive to end regulation. Bowlen was football first, business second'. Broncos' Athletic Trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos is retiring after 45 seasons with the team. If youre doing something you love, you dont watch the clock or think about it, he said. As a proud native Coloradoan, Greek loved the Broncos and gave everything he had to the job, arriving most days before 4:30 a.m. and keeping that same passion throughout his entire career. Those things are unbelievable and the number of great people and great minds of technology was phenomenal with what you can do for the medical care of football players., Without question, it was our second year here (1984) and he had to go in the offseason to Boston for a Lloyds of London insurance policy. Although not given the recognition they so often deserve, NFL athletic trainers are some of the most important support staff members in any organization. It paid $25 a week plus room and board, he said with a laugh. I went and got a summer job on the state highway back home that summer and I was getting married. Antonopulos joined the Broncos as assistant athletic trainer in 1976 . His first chance came in the summer of 1969 when trainer Allen Hurst offered him an internship. Here are his assistants at Super Bowl 50 in February: Congrats to @broncos and the athletic training staff. No one cared more about the players than Greek. The weather was awful. Their athletic body movements express their identity. preseason), 438 total wins, 13 head coaches, 983 players with at least one game appearance. Anthopoulos successful career has earned him some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy cars. Steve Greek Antonopulos, the only person to work for the Broncos during each of their eight Super Bowl appearances, announced Monday he is retiring after 45 seasons of service. From there, we went to Cheers bar and ran into some Denver people and had a couple cold ones. If you dont have passion, you are in the wrong field. Five hours later, he was driving me 80 miles an hour down I-25 so I could get to the basketball game that night. Longtime head athletic trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos is retiring after 45 years with the club, the team announced Monday. 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Antonopulos joined the Broncos as an assistant trainer in 1976, became head athletic trainer in 1981 and was promoted to the role of director of sports medicine in 2016. He was special the way he handled it., The continued advancement of therapeutic exercises and the concussion protocols and the NFL hiring medical liaisons has been crucial in advancement of doing things the right way. Rather respecting them in their most important roles as sons, brothers, fathers, and husbands. Athletic trainers have one of the more important jobs on a professional sports team, especially in the NFL. Counting players on training camp roster, Antonopulos treated more than 1,500 players. Athletic trainers with little to no experience make just above $30,000 each year, which, in regards to the amount of work and responsibility that athletic trainers have, may not seem like a lot of. Awesome was Antonopulos longevity in the often-unstable world of the NFL. @Broncos celebrating head trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos tonight. Steve Antonopulos reaches out to injured linebacker Nick Greisen in Englewood, Colo., on Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. cant-miss stories, Next and Broncos content, weather and more delivered right, Players given Kratom by Colorado coach, police say, Skier Shiffrin's quest for 86th win extended after downhill, 77 inches of snow fall at Colorado ski area in 9 days, 'Greek' Antonopulos: Presenting Bowlen for HOF has been emotional time, 'Greek' on man he will present to HOF: 'Mr. Antonopulos called working for the Broncos a lifes dream., A lot of people say that, but it was the reality for me, he said. Broncos head trainer Steve Antonopulos, who is in his 40th season with the team, was presented with a painting created by noted artist Gabe Richesson. We sincerely thank his wife Susan and the entire Antonopulos family for sharing Greek with us for so many years.". It wasnt really an injury. He earned the head trainer position in 1979. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. XFL Week 3 preview: Can AJ McCarron, Battlehawks continue their fourth-quarter heroics? Even before taking his first snap with the Broncos, he tore his left knees ACL in high school. Antonopulos, who called Bowlen the ultimate owner, was selected by the Bowlen family in 2019 to present Pat at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. That poor guy. We always worked with Craig Hospital and the concussion experts and developed our protocols, which are similar to some that are used today. Interior linebackers Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan had uncertain futures going into the 2015 season. As a proud native Coloradoan, Greek loved the Broncos and gave everything he had to the job, arriving most days before 4:30 a.m. and keeping that same passion throughout his entire career. A motto for Antonopulos was Defend My Desk., When a new owner or coach was hired, he said: They come in and have 100 things going on and what they dont need is somebody trying to make an appointment and promote themselves. Before the 2020 season, Steve told John Elway that the 2020-2021 season would be his final one as an athletic trainer. The 2023 NFL Combine is underway. Antonopulos forged strong relationships with coaches and players alike and had a particularly close bond with late owner Pat Bowlen, who bought the Broncos in 1984. We sincerely thank his wife Susan and the entire Antonopulos family for sharing Greek with us for so many years. No other NFL trainer has treated a teams general manager, head coach, offensive coordinator and current roster of players. My wife deserves this and we need to move on, Antonopulos said in a phone interview Sunday with The Denver Post. In announcing the retirement of the man everyone called Greek, the Broncos said he treated 980 different players in the regular season and playoffs. We were taxing to take off and he just went nuts and jumped out of his seat and was screaming and the pilot pulled up, opened the door and let him get a breath. After Greeks retirement was announced, team president/CEO Joe Ellis released the following statement: Steve has been an institution with the Broncos for the last 45 years and became one of the most respected athletic training professionals in all of sports. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. I use the time to work out and do administrative tasks. We had a few of those guys, but he was to the hilt. If you do not acknowledge the unique importance of Greek, then you chronically underestimate the Broncos. Genuine compassiondoes not stokepipe dreams but conveys the everyday dignity owed to any man, especially for the players attempting to secure a livelihood for their families to leap from ongoing poverty to sustained prosperity. The Drive was so special. It didn't matter if they were a Hall of Famer or an undrafted rookie -- his standard never changed. He was a fixture on our sidelines for the greatest moments in team history, the first person running on the field to care for an injured player and the one who supported them through every step of their recovery. Antonopulos is the only Broncos employee who has been to all eight Super Bowls. He closed the door and he went nuts again. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, whose size has been a matter of conjecture in the run-up to the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, officially measured in at 5-foot-10 1/8 and 204 pounds on Saturday. Rick Massie was a receiver from Kentucky. My philosophy was if you do your job and do a good job, theyll get to you. I dont have an exact set deadline on when Im coming back. That poor guy. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. We certainly wouldnt have gone to Cheers had we known it would take that long. You must be logged in to leave a comment. Steve Antonopulos has been the head trainer for the Broncos ever since. Former Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, who arrived to the Broncos as a rookie quarterback in 1983 and spent well over two decades with the franchise himself, has joked that Antonopulos was with the Broncos before the orange and blue in the uniforms. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. How did Antonopulos survive so many regime changes? He is the only individual to be part of all eight Broncos Super Bowl runs. Denver Broncos athletic trainer Steve Antonopulos, who recently retired this offseason, was the longest tenured athletic trainer in the NFL. He got $26.4 million without playing a down for the Colts last year 32 percent more than his first-year salary with the Broncos.