ProRodeo Sports News - April 12, 2024

though he has been a regular at the Denver Stock Show and Rodeo and Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days for years. His excellence came on the gridiron. But he learned something about the sport in the arena while working in college at the North End Depot in Minnesota. “I was a walk-on in college at (the University of) Minnesota. So, I was a bouncer, and I ran the mechanical bull at the bar,” Mecklenburg said. “When running that bull, if you wanted it on (level) 10 and had a couple of beers in you I could get you bouncing off the cigarette machine.” Mecklenburg is one of the greatest Broncos defensive players in franchise history. He earned All-Pro honors four times, including three straight from 1985-87, and appeared in six Pro Bowls. He defined his success by overcoming obstacles, refusing to take a hint. It did not matter that he was undersized, his rolled up sleeves and desire to learn paved his path to stardom. Mecklenburg appeared in three Super Bowls and was inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame in 1994. While he has not reached the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he was delighted to see his former teammate Randy Gradishar selected for football’s highest honor in February. “I am excited for him. I know it was something he deserved for a long time. I was moved to linebacker because Randy retired. I played with him for one year. To see the way he approached the game and the respect his teammates had for him left an impression,” Mecklenburg said. “Randy, Tom Jackson, Louis Wright, Barney Chavous, they were great mentors for us as rookies.” Mecklenburg delivered a class in humility, versatility, and excellence during his 12-year career. Now, he gets to spend a night celebrating rodeo stars and the western lifestyle. “I didn’t live the cowboy life, but my grandfather had a couple of quarter ponies that he kept for the summer. I would feed them, and they would bite me or run from me,” Mecklenburg said with a laugh. “But the rodeo, I have always enjoyed it. The barrel racing, the roping, the broncs, the bull riding, it’s technically amazing and obviously entertaining.”

Karl Mecklenburg talks with Denver Broncos defensive coach Charlie Waters. Mecklenburg was a star for the Broncos from 1983-1994. Below, Mecklenburg tries to break through the line against the Seattle Seahawks. He had 79 quarterback sacks.

ProRodeo Sports News 4/12/2024

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