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At first inspection, Karl Mecklenburg seems like any pro-defensive lineman who's made it to retirement:
Dim.
But Mecklenburg, a former Augustana Viking (1978-1979), Minnesota Gopher (1980-1982) and Denver Bronco's player (1983-1994), has got at least a little wit left in him.
After his time at Augustana, he played as a walk-on for the Minnesota Gophers before being picked up by the Broncos in the 12th round of the NFL Draft. Humble beginnings, to be sure. But by the end of his football career, he'd staked his claim in the team as a captain and three time All-Pro.
Since then, he recently authored Heart of a Student Athlete, a book that speaks as part inspirational device for success and part personal memoir. During a conversation with him last Friday, he told me of his ‘Six Keys to Success' (teamwork, courage, honesty and forgiveness, dedication, desire, and goal setting) that I was sure I'd heard from guidance counselors and self-help infomercials many, many times in my life.
Now, Mecklenburg travels around the United States as a motivational speaker. Again, the message—while a positive one—is one I've been hearing since grade school. "Success is overcoming obstacles on the way to your dreams," he says. "If you're not running into challenges and obstacles, you're not working hard enough. You can control your own destiny by your own level of desire."
I see the light. Thank you, Karl.
Instead of asking him any more questions about the book, I decided to judge it by the man who wrote it. He was a former Augustana Viking, after all, and what was more interesting than the re-cooked message he's been promoting is the fact that he's alive in the first place.
After playing professionally with the Broncos from 1983-1994, his skull thickening from years of concussive impacts, his six-foot-three-inch, 240 pound frame can pretty much withstand a shotgun blast to the head. Literally.
Once while turkey hunting, he was mistaken for a giant turkey (though I find it hard to imagine someone mistaking him for a Sasquatch-sized turkey) and shot from 30 yards away by a magnum shell 12-gauge shotgun blast by his shooting partner. The 65 steel pellets that tore though his neck and head, many of which are still in him, nearly shredded his jugular, lungs and spine cord. He was admitted to a local hospital on a Friday in
Valentine, Neb. in critical condition.
He went hunting again that Sunday and tagged a respectably sized deer.
Of course, when asked about the injury, he just kind of hums and answers in a heavy-browed, monotone voice, "It hurt," he pauses. "I felt like I had just played a game."
That's it. No more emotion. He doesn't act like he was particularly lucky to be alive or impressed by the fact he was uninjured simply because he has been taking shotgun blasts for years against every offensive lineman in the league.
I understand now. More than anything, the biggest key to success he missed in Heart of a Student Athlete was Preparation. Make sure that you are prepared for everything and you can never be surprised by anything. Anyone who has the foresight to train his body to withstand a shotgun blast to the face and live to tell about it has at least one success story to speak of. Who am I to hate on a guy shouting from atop a worn out soapbox?
Preach on, Karl. Preach on.
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