Denver Broncos director of sports medicine Steve "Greek" Antonopulos will serve as the Pro Football Hall of Fame presenter for team owner Pat Bowlen, the Broncos announced Tuesday.
The Bowlen family chose Antonopulos, a Broncos staffer for more than 40 years, as he is a longtime friend of Bowlen. Antonopulos' career includes 37 seasons as the team's head athletic trainer.
"I was very emotional," Antonopulos said Tuesday. "... I'm so humbled and honored they have chosen me for this. It's a great honor.
"Nobody cared about players more than Mr. Bowlen. He liked to communicate with them, not because he wanted to rub elbows, but because he cared about them. And, you know what? That was important."
Antonopulos said he "broke down" and was "very emotional" when he was told he'd be presenting Bowlen for induction.
He will be just the second trainer to serve as a Hall of Fame presenter. Former Buffalo Bills athletic trainer Ed Abramoski was the presenter for offensive guard Billy Shaw in 1999.
More often than not, Bowlen's first stop when he came to the office would be to stop by the training room to sit with Antonopulos.
"His day centered on parking that car in the garage, walking down the hall, getting two sticks of Red Man gum from in front of the equipment room, and then to the training room," Antonopulos said. "And our conversations went from a player's injury to a player's family, to his issues, I mean it just -- the trust in the relationship that we had with each other has been phenomenal."
ESPN's Jeff Legwold contributed to this report.