MILWAUKEE — A former Green Bay Packer shares how his time in the Frozen Tundra prepared him to be an Olympian.
Running back Johnny Quinn became a bobsledder with Team USA in 2014, at 30 years old.
We spoke to Quinn about what he learned from being a Packer and Olympic bobsledder. “You're going 80 miles an hour down an icy mountain. No seat belt. Crashes happen. Even on a smooth bobsled ride you're pulling 5Gs.”
It's a feeling Quinn could only hold up playing for Green Bay. “To have my first reception on Monday night football in Lambeau Field — unbelievable, amazing.”
Quinn had to make it up the ranks in the NFL through hard work. One time, he got a little help from his friend Aaron Rodgers. “I got into the weight room with the Packers. They had all their proteins lined up in a fridge and I went to grab one. When I pulled it out, the whole shelf fell —and I felt so embarrassed. Aaron [Rodgers] was right there and helped me clean them all up. Super humble and genuine guy.”
His athleticism as a wide receiver made him a perfect candidate to push the 400-pound bobsled.
Quinn had to overcome the setback of getting benched the third week of the Olympic year. “And there's only eight weeks in an Olympic year, so you better be on the team week eight. Sure it worked out but how do you handle being benched in life?”
Quinn wrote about this in his book called "Push." The father of two now lives in Texas. The public speaker and businessman will never forget representing our red, white and blue - as well as green and gold.
“If you wear the green and gold for any amount of time, you’re part of the Packers family,” Quinn said.
WEB EXTRA: Johnny talks about the mental hurdles you have to go through to be an Olympian:
