Karl Mecklenburg: Defending the Faith

CBN.com For 12 seasons, Karl Mecklenburg was the backbone of the Broncos defense.  From the first time he strapped on a helmet, Karl seemed destined to play football.

"My dad tells this story of my first game. I’m sitting on the sidelines on the bench, and he comes up to me and puts his arm around me and says, ‘Karl, what do you think about this football?’  My response was, ‘Dad, I really love to smash guys.’ Ten-years old and I was already a linebacker."

Karl made his mark in football as a walk-on at the University of Minnesota where in 1982, he was named the Gophers "Most Outstanding Defensive Player."

The next year, Karl was drafted by the Broncos in the twelfth round. Many considered him a long shot just to make the team. But Karl worked hard for every opportunity and made the starting roster. That came, however at a cost.

"It was not an easy road for me to get to the NFL, and it was something that I realized at that point, how important football was to me. It became an all-consuming thing. I was a football player and very little else," he says.

That left little time for his wife, Kathi whom he married just after college.

"She also had been questioning my behavior for quite awhile. We had a young son at the time, and she wanted me home more than I was and to be more helpful than I was. In retrospect I understand that, but at the time I didn’t."

By 1984, Karl proved himself a mainstay on the Bronco’s defense. Three seasons and three pro-bowls later, he had won the heart of the fans. He lived for their adoration.

Karl recalls, "It’s much easier to hear people say how great you are who don’t know you, than to hear somebody question you that does know you."

But that was all about to change. In 1987, the NFL players went on strike. Many players including Karl picketed a replacement players game outside the Broncos stadium.

"I signed a couple autographs. There were three electricians kids and all of a sudden, a fourth kid comes up to me and asks, 'Can I have your autograph?'  I said, 'Wait a second, which one of you kids are going to the game?' The young man said, 'I’m going.'  And I said, 'Well I can’t give you an autograph then.' So I took it back, and tore it in half, and dropped it on the ground. It was the dumbest thing I could have done at the time. I should have just let it go. Furious, the boy’s father wrote a letter to the editor of the Denver Post.  The fallout was devastating. It was really a tough time for me. I had been living for the fan adoration and just the whole football thing for quite awhile. In the same way that they’re so passionate in a positive way, that same passion was completely turned against me at the time. It got bad. I got death threats in the mail. I had a book out at that time in 1987. I had people picketing me down at my book signings. I turned to my friends, and I had pretty much alienated them. I turned to my family, and I had alienated them."

Karl turned to the only person he thought might be able to help.

"Finally I turned to God. And the amazing thing was I had accepted Christ 10 years ago, but He was still waiting for me to turn to Him. I really listened and really kind of grew in the Lord from the pastor’s presentation. There’s a Bible passage that I like, 

Karl says he had a new purpose, and it wasn’t being the best linebacker in the NFL. His new desire was to surrender his life to Jesus Christ.

"Things changed at that point. I started delving into the Bible and really studying with what it meant and meant to me. I let my wife know I loved her and how important she was to me. That’s the most important thing as a husband is to not only verbally let her know, but by my actions, and I had been neglecting both of those."

After the strike ended, Karl returned to the field with a new perspective. That same season, he received two honors: "AFC Linebacker of the Year" and "AFC Player of the Year."

"It was interesting because I was just playing for fun. It wasn’t all about the game, I was playing for other things," he says.

Karl retired from football in 1994, then in 2001. He was inducted into the Broncos Hall of Fame to a standing ovation from the fans.

"It was a wonderful thing. I was able to bring my family out. I was able to give them the credit they deserve for my success, and it was a great honor."

Today, Karl runs a foundation he calls Reach which provides educational opportunities to Denver area children. He’s thankful God reached out to him.

"There are seasons in life and things change, but the one thing that doesn’t change is God.  And that is the great thing about him.  Like I said, I neglected God for 10 years, and He still waited for me. That’s the amazing thing about Him."