A clear choice: Bowlen family explains why Steve 'Greek' Antonopulos will present Pat Bowlen at Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement

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Steve “Greek” Antonopulos, who has been with the Broncos for more than four decades, will help the rest of Bowlen’s family reveal Bowlen’s bust on stage. Antonopulos will also be featured in a video that recognizes Bowlen’s accomplishments.


Antonopulos’ inclusion in the ceremony is only fitting. As Beth Bowlen Wallace said Friday, Antonopulos is like another member of Pat Bowlen’s family. So when Bowlen’s children decided on Bowlen’s presenter, Antonopulos was the logical choice.


“That choice was really reflective of who my father was [to] have someone who pursues excellence in their workplace and does it with great humility and behind the scenes,” Bowlen Wallace said. “We believe he really reflected who my father was as an owner.”


While the decision made complete sense to the Bowlen family — and to anyone who knows about the friendship between Bowlen and Antonopulos — it came as a shock to the Broncos’ longtime athletic trainer and current director of sports medicine.


“It was not ever a thought,” said Antonopulos when asked if he had considered the Bowlens would ask him to present their father. “I was stunned when I was asked to do it.”


Antonopulos, who said Bowlen was a “great friend” in addition to being a supportive owner, said the honor is a “very emotional” responsibility.


And though there would be no real way to boil down more than three decades of a friendship to mere minutes for the enshrinement ceremony, Antonopulos said he will try to capture the essence of Bowlen’s legacy as an owner and man.


“There was no way I was able to say all the things that I wanted to say about him,” Antonopulos said. “Some of it was directed [in terms of] the things to say. I just wanted to show the compassion that people had for him and the passion he had for people and his integrity and mindset and just honor him in the most honorable way we all could.”


On Saturday, he’ll have the chance to do just that. And to the Bowlen family, it’s more than fitting that the person presenting their father is someone who in many ways reminds them of their dad.


“We also wanted to pick somebody who really embodied my father’s spirit, especially within the organization,” Brittany said. “We felt that Greek was someone that does that.


“He loves this organization deeply, and he conducts himself in a quiet way behind the scenes, just like my father did."