DENVER BRONCOS RING OF FAME QUOTES (10/30/15)
RING OF FAME TIGHT END SHANNON SHARPE
On playing pranks on Owner Pat Bowlen
“What I used to do was—Mr. [Pat] B [Bowlen] would always come down on Thursday and [Head Athletic Trainer Steve] Greek
[Antonopulos] would give him the report of how everybody was progressing with their injuries. I would make it a habit, I would
go up to his office and I would steal his glasses. Everybody knows Mr. B liked to wear those little, little, little running shorts. I
would go steal his glasses, I would go cut up some of those shorts that we have so that they'd be short, I'd get tube socks and I
would be sitting there in Greek's office with my foot on Greek's desk just like he would be. He would come in, look at me and
he'd say, 'You effing,'—you know what. He would just bust out laughing. I would do it all the time because to be a part of this
team, you really were a part of this team. No one was exempt from being made fun of. That went for Mr. B, [Former Head
Coach] Mike Shanahan, [Executive Vice President of Football Operations/GM] John Elway—you know it had to be yours truly
doing it. He is such a great guy.
On Pat Bowlen's selflessness and commitment to winning
“In 1992, I had a situation where I bought a fur coat for my girlfriend and I wanted to take it back. It was two days later and the
guy wouldn't take it back. I told Mr. B my situation. He gave me his personal attorney. Needless to say, they took the coat back.
He's a great guy. We knew that we were going to stay in the best hotels and we were going to get the best meal prepared. He
wanted to remove every hedge and every crutch that we could possibly have on why we weren't succeeding. If we didn't
succeed on the football field, that was because we didn't get it done. It wasn't because we didn't have the best training, it wasn't
because we didn't stay in the best hotels and it wasn't because we didn't have the best food. We knew that we had the best of
everything and it was just up to us to go out there and perform. That's the thing that you appreciate most. He wasn't
meddlesome. He stayed away. He let the guys that he hired to do the job do their job. At the end result, I'm so glad to be a part
of the teams that were able to bring Super Bowls in '97 and '98 to the Broncos. Those are probably some of my greatest
memories of Mr. B.”
On how he was welcomed back from Baltimore by Pat Bowlen
“Basically, he said, 'I wish it would have never happened, but I'm glad you're back.' It was really the only place [I wanted to go].
Once I got released by the Ravens, [Former Head Coach] Mike [Shanahan] called me and asked me if I wanted to come back. I
©2015 Denver Broncos Football Club. All rights reserved. The individual quotes cited in this document may be used for the purpose of news reporting and other
fair uses as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Duplication or posting of this quote sheet, in its entirety, or any other use of this material which is not a
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said, 'Mike, I know everything about Denver. I know what the facility looks like, I know what you look like and I know what Mr. B
looks like. I want to come back. Let's make it happen. If you believe that I can play, let's get the deal done. If you don't think that
I can play and help this football team, there's no sense in you wasting my time or me wasting your time.' I was so glad to come
back and finish my career where it started with the team that gave me an opportunity. I'm known as a Bronco. Yeah, I spent two
years in Baltimore, but very few people even realize that I was in Baltimore for two years because I spent 12 of my 14 years here
in Denver. It's great to be back and see finally—I tell the story all the time, if I buy a home, the first picture going on the wall is
mine. He has owned the team since 1984 and he's just now getting into the Ring of Fame. I think that it just shows the type of
person that he is and that he never wanted the attention. He wanted his players and he wanted his coaches to get the attention.
He just sat in the background and relished what we were able to accomplish.”
On Pat Bowlen working out with the team
“He actually thought that he could outwork me in the gym. I let him believe that. I didn't want to spoil his dreams that he could
outwork me. He was out there every day. He was on the gauntlet, he was on the elliptical, he was on the stationary bike and that
was probably after he had run for an hour at lunch. Then he would come in and do it all again when we'd see him in the
afternoon. It was great because you knew that you had someone that was in your corner. You knew that he gave you everything
that you would possibly need to go out and succeed on the football field. As a player, that's all that you can ask for. As an owner,
you don't get an opportunity to play, but hopefully you have the coaching staff and they've accumulated the right players and
right mixture of players that you can say, 'I'm a World Champion.' For me to be a part of the team that to be in San Diego when
[Former NFL] Commissioner [Paul] Tagliabue handed him that trophy, I knew that it meant so much. It probably meant even
more to him to hand it off to John [Elway] than it did receiving the trophy from Commissioner Tagliabue. It's an honor for me to
be here and to see him [be inducted]. It's long overdue. Now, I think that the next step for the ride is to put him in Canton. I think
that it's only fair that he goes into Canton for what he's meant to this league, what he's meant to this city and what his team's
have been able to do since he took over ownership in 1984. I think that it speaks for itself.”
On the Broncos chances to win Sunday
“I love our chances. I love our chances. We're the Broncos, we don't lose at home.”
©2015 Denver Broncos Football Club. All rights reserved. The individual quotes cited in this document may be used for the purpose of news reporting and other
fair uses as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Duplication or posting of this quote sheet, in its entirety, or any other use of this material which is not a
fair use as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of the Denver Broncos Football Club.