Growing Up Gronk: A Familys Story of Raising Champions
Page 14
When the Patriots entered the 2011 playoffs after winning the AFC East, it appeared there was little that could slow the team’s momentum. Quarterback Tom Brady, receiver Wes Welker, and tight ends Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez combined to form a potent offense. In the first two playoff games, Rob had fifteen receptions and three touchdowns. All was going according to plan.
Then, during a tackle by Baltimore safety Bernard Pollard in the AFC Championship game, Rob’s left ankle rolled awkwardly. He refused to stay down, leaping up toward the huddle with a pronounced limp. He sat out but returned a few plays later, insistent on ignoring the pain.
“Medical professionals examined it after the game and told us the damage was done. It couldn’t be hurt anymore,” Gordy said. “We knew it was serious and that he needed surgery. He was going day to day. The tendons were stretched out. His agent and I were worried that he might favor it and hurt something else. If it wasn’t the Super Bowl, he would have never been playing. But Rob is a tough kid and he wasn’t going to be denied.”
That sort of talk is irrelevant, Rob suggested.
“There was no point of thinking what to do if it was a normal week,” he said. “It wasn’t. It was Super Bowl week. Possibly I’d have had surgery a couple days after the Baltimore game, but I can’t really say. There was one more game to play, so we kept it going.”
With no real controversies to feed off, the media played up Gronkowski’s injury in the days leading up to the game.
“There was no other story to report on besides Rob’s ankle,” his father said. “Nobody on either team did anything stupid. No one broke curfew. There were no sightings of someone doing something dumb in a bar. So they ended up focusing on this ankle. It got more attention than it should have.”
Unwillingly, Gordy found himself in the center of a media firestorm when he told a Buffalo TV station that his son would play in the Super Bowl despite the high-ankle sprain. At the time, the Patriots had not released information about the injury. Coach Bill Belichick is notorious for keeping such things confidential.
Fellow players found the incident comical.
“That’s what his dad said?” New England receiver Deion Branch asked, giggling when he learned of the comments. “When did he say that? For real? That’s good. I guess he knows. I don’t know. I don’t know what Gronk has.”
“My comment went viral,” Gordy said a few days later. “It changed everyone’s perception of the outcome. When I got to Indianapolis, people stopped me and asked to take a picture with Papa Gronk. I waved at the cameras and zipped my lip. I didn’t want to be part of the circus, but suddenly, I was.”
Every question Rob faced was about his injury. Ever the prankster, Rob was not above having fun with it. “What are you asking me for?” he wondered. “Talk to my dad.” With cameras rolling, he exaggerated a limp as he walked into one interview. When he finally did turn serious, the mantra he repeated was “Day to day.”
In fact, Gordy’s prediction was correct. Rob did compete in the Super Bowl, catching two passes for twenty-six yards. The New York Giants defeated the Patriots, 21–17.
Rob refused any suggestions that he was less than healthy during the game.
“I didn’t get to practice for two weeks, and that’s a big difference,” he conceded. “But so what? I was out there, and there are no excuses. You have to give one hundred percent when you’re on the field.”
He was nearly a hero on the last play, a desperate Hail Mary throw toward the end zone. Despite being tipped, battered, and knocked about, the ball fell helplessly to the ground a few yards from Gronkowski’s outstretched arms.
“You can’t control where the Hail Mary is going,” he said. “If the ball had bounced to the right, everyone would have said I was in the best spot. But it bounced to the left more and I just wasn’t there. Obviously, since then I’ve wondered why I didn’t keep running. I stopped and hoped the ball would bounce to my side. With a Hail Mary, it’s all luck. It’s painful to think about it.”
“He could have been a legend if he’d caught that pass at the end,” his father reflected. “If he had another step, he would have had it. A few days after the game, a TV program did an analysis that showed he was taking shorter steps because of his injury. If it wasn’t for his bad ankle, he would have been there to make that catch. But the big picture is that if it wasn’t for his ankle, he would have caught eight or ten passes instead of two. There may have been a totally different outcome to the game.”
Five weeks later, with his left ankle protected by a blue-and-white cast, Rob conceded that he had still not watched video of the play.
“I don’t even want to see it,” he said with resolve. “I just want the season to start so we get another shot.”
During the 2011 season, as Rob’s stature grew, he found himself in the spotlight for reasons besides football. In October, he returned to Arizona during the Patriots’ bye week. During that visit, a mutual friend introduced him to a porn star, who posted photos of herself online wearing Rob’s No. 87 Patriots jersey. He stood behind her, shirtless, both of them smiling.
Was this outrageous and embarrassing behavior or simply a twenty-two-year-old taking a photo with an attractive girl? Was it, as some claimed, the act of a young athlete trying to increase the number of followers on his Twitter account?
“I didn’t intend anything to hurt the reputation of anyone on the New England Patriots or on behalf of [team owner] Robert Kraft,” a contrite Rob said when the cameras gathered to question him after he returned to work the following week, preparing for an AFC matchup against Pittsburgh. “That’s all, just a simple picture, that’s all. From here on out, I’m just here to talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers and the big game this weekend.”
More media attention followed, however, at a post–Super Bowl party, when video was released of a shirtless Rob dancing on a stage just a few hours after the loss.
“Once the game ended, there was a private party for Patriots fans,” Rob’s father said. Gordy attended with his other sons. “There were about a thousand people there. I think you had to win a lottery to get tickets. Earth, Wind and Fire kicked off the show, then Maroon Five, then LMFAO. That’s when the craziness started.”
According to Gordy, Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light jumped onstage and began dancing. Soon Rob followed suit.
“It was two in the morning and everyone was having a good time,” Gordy said. “It was a good season. They had twenty-five really good weeks. Let’s be honest: Robbie had some pretty good dance moves.”
Critics complained because the Patriots had just lost the biggest football game of the year. Should team members really be out partying a few hours later?
Gordy, however, defended his son by focusing on the big picture. All five Gronkowski boys spent the week before kickoff in Indianapolis. They made several public appearances and were given the red carpet treatment. The boys turned up on TV shows, visited hospitals and army bases, and promoted the NFL’s campaign to keep kids active. Despite the loss, a busy week had come to a close.
“The thing about Rob is, he’s not the kind of guy to sit there and dwell,” his father explained. “He was definitely very upset, no doubt about it, but after a time, he’s onto the next thing. That’s how he is. That’s his personality. With all his brothers there, Rob wasn’t going to dwell. Except for the result of the game, it had been a great week.”
Months afterward, Rob remained upset about losing the biggest game of his career.
“I’m still not over it,” he said. “It makes me want to keep working. You don’t get the taste out of your mouth until the next season starts all over again and you get the first win under your belt.”
The post–Super Bowl hoopla occurred late Sunday night, into the wee hours of Monday morning. As analysts dissected the matchup and bantered about the Patriots’ postgame party over the next few days, Gordy returned home to Buffalo. But later that week, he was back in Boston to accompany Rob to his ankl
e surgery, scheduled for Friday morning.
Thursday night, however, Rob and his father attended a Celtics game at TD Garden. With courtside seating, Rob participated in a community-service event, sitting with a cancer patient for part of the game.
Walking into the arena, Gordy felt apprehension. His son had been popular in Boston for most of the past two years, but the Patriots just lost the Super Bowl and Rob had been filmed acting wild at a postgame party. Would fans understand and sympathize, or would they hold a grudge and turn on him?
“I wondered how people were going to react,” Gordy admitted. “Were people pissed off because he had his shirt off a few nights earlier?”
When Rob stepped onto the floor, he towered over the people around him. A thrill rippled through the crowd. Thousands of people began clapping. Suddenly everyone was on their feet, yelling his nickname. The chant was deafening, echoing to the rafters. “Gronk! Gronk! Gronk!”
“Rob put his two arms on my shoulders and pushed me through,” Gordy said. “It was like we were in a Rocky movie. I never would have expected that reaction in a million years. It was amazing. People went nuts for him. I was standing there thinking, holy shit, this is my son! It was one of the greatest moments I’ve had in my entire life.”
Gordy’s wonder did not stop that night. In the middle of the first quarter, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers ran past Rob.
“Hey, Gronk, I want to talk to you later,” he said, glancing briefly at the football star, then continuing to trot up the court.
Gordy rubbed his eyes. Had that just happened? Did one of the biggest basketball stars on the planet request time with his son?
“After the game, Kobe came over and said, ‘I’ve got to get my picture with you,’” Gordy recounted. “He said, ‘Gronk, you’ve got to play for the Philadelphia Eagles because that’s my favorite team.’ So Kobe started recruiting him for the Eagles. The next day that was in the paper. Rob can’t make a move without it being news. It’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen.”
Interest in his personality had gone international. That week, Rob Gronkowski was the seventh-most-popular Internet search in the world.
“I need to get him out of the spotlight,” his father lamented. “I’ve got to get the kid some rest.”
There was little rest in the off-season. On a sunny spring Saturday in 2012, Dan, Chris, Rob, and their father gathered at Williamsville North High School, in the boys’ old high school gym, to begin a daylong media marathon. Muscle & Fitness magazine was in town to capture images for a cover shot, scheduled to appear that fall. Photographers set up light stands before a gray backdrop that curled onto the floor. Amid power cords and an open laptop, equipment tested brightness and light quality. A folding makeup table, holding various hues and brushes, became a command post near the bleachers. Hovering nearby was the magazine journalist who had interviewed the brothers a day earlier.
As the Gronkowskis shook hands with the crew, Rob was immediately whisked to wardrobe. After removing his shirt and donning football pants, he stood as a makeup artist sprayed coloring onto his chiseled frame. While everyone else settled in, Rob was sent before the cameras.
Gordy moved about the gym like a salesman, shaking hands and speaking to everyone. Dan and Chris greeted their old high school coach, Mike Mammoliti, and said hi to the photographers and producers. While Rob was being photographed, they dribbled basketballs, practiced jukes, and launched three-pointers. Dan and Chris had been invited to participate for the day, but it was clear Rob was the featured player.
Standing near the backdrop, Rob appeared bored, requesting that music be played. Once he stepped onto the tarp, however, photographers began directing him, suggesting expressions. His movements became animated. The process stretched on and on.
“Rob, you suck as a model,” Chris taunted ninety minutes later. “They still don’t have a good shot yet!”
“Really glad we got up early for this,” Dan commented, his words tinged with sarcasm. “But I shouldn’t say that. I understand Rob is the draw. If it wasn’t for Rob, we wouldn’t even be invited today.”
Finally, Dan, Chris, and even Gordy joined Rob as models, although their time in the spotlight lasted only fifteen minutes. The boys all removed their shirts; Gordy kept his white T-shirt on.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap arrived to spend the afternoon with the Gronkowski family in anticipation of an E:60 segment about Rob to air in September, right around the time the New England Patriots would appear on Monday Night Football. Schaap entered the gym before lunchtime.
Once the photo shoot ended, the boys changed back into their street clothes and ESPN’s cameramen snapped into action. Boom mikes stretched overhead as the four Gronkowskis huddled in a circle with Schaap, who questioned them about their younger days playing in the Williamsville North gym. This was followed by a trip to the weight room, where Chris pointed to a wallboard, boasting that he still held school records for lifting despite graduating seven years earlier.
After a quick trip to the football field, cameras and microphones chronicling every step, the entire crew agreed to meet at a nearby restaurant, where a buffet of pizza, subs, and chicken wings was spread on a common table. Under the patio’s awning, several of the boys’ friends gathered as well. With his back to the wall, Rob acted silly.
“When we were in high school, this kid was stopped by the cops,” Rob said, pointing to his friend. “He crapped his pants.”
Schaap and the ESPN camera crew took it all in.
Nearby patrons recognized Rob. A young boy approached timidly, requesting an autograph, to which Rob obliged.
After lunch, it was back to the Gronkowski family home, where their kitchen became a makeshift television studio. Tables and chairs were pushed aside, darkening film laid across the windows to reduce glare, and lights and cords snaked against the tile floor. Before Schaap began interviewing Rob, everyone aside from the crew was sent outside.
Next to the Gronkowskis’ wide driveway is a tennis court with basketball posts and hockey nets pushed against the fence. Two dozen people, all banished from the house, lined up to shoot three-pointers in a family competition known as twenty-one. Gordy, Dan, Chris, and Gordie all launched basketballs toward the net. Goose, feeling under the weather, watched from an upstairs window, but shortly came down and joined as well.
Nearly an hour and a half later, with the third game underway, Gordie began to wonder what was taking so long.
“They’re still in there interviewing Rob? Seriously? The kid only ever says two things.” In his best Rob impression, he grunted, “I just want to keep grinding and working hard. Do what’s best for the team.” He shook his head. “Can’t get two hours out of that.”
In the resulting E:60 interview, Schaap referred to Rob as “the most irrepressible adolescent on the planet . . . uninhibited; juvenile.”
Rob embraced the description. “I inspire people to act like children,” he admitted.
Just ask his brothers, he said. When he was growing up, his plan was always to play in the NFL and do silly things. He was living his dream.
In the summer of 2012, Rob was seemingly everywhere. He appeared on the cover of ESPN The Magazine’s “body issue,” in which athletes are photographed naked. Rob used an oversized confetti football to cover his private parts, but otherwise showed little inhibition. He and his brothers mugged on the red carpet at the ESPY Awards in California. Rob, Chris, and Dan appeared on Young Hollywood, a TV magazine show. Rob turned up in so many places that season, the media started referring to it as the Summer of Gronk.
“I don’t really like that phrase,” Rob admitted. “The summer was cool, but I was basically doing what I do every year. The highlight is being together with my family.”
There was a reason for all the attention. Rob’s play on the field created legitimate media and fan interest. In every game he played, he had the potential to dominate defenses, not simply by catching passes, but also by his fierce bl
ocking on run plays. He had quickly grown into one of the NFL’s biggest stars.
Football, Rob understands, has led to publicity. But he insists he would not act any differently if he had never played the sport.
“Really, I’m the same person I’ve been since high school. If I wasn’t playing football, I’d be in the fitness industry. I’d love to train people or sell equipment, like what my dad does. My dad always taught us how to get to the next level. He brought us into the weight room and motivated us, put us into programs to develop our speed and agility. I could never be an accountant. If it wasn’t football, I’d have to be active, running around, helping people out.”
With so many demands on his time, Rob is selective about appearances. He contributes time to charitable events, but needs to strike a balance.
“I just lay everything out on the table,” he said. “I try to figure out what the cause is for and how it fits with my practice and workout schedule. On the off-season, I work out about two hours each day. After that, if I can get to an event, I’ll do it.”
Despite having two years left on his first pro contract, Rob inked a six-year extension with the Patriots, making him the highest-paid tight end in league history. It seemed he couldn’t get more popular. Despite having just turned twenty-three, he was all grown up. The Age of Gronk had arrived.
Goose, Gordie, and Rob opening presents on Christmas morning, 2003.
Goose as a high school football star, 2009.
12
Goose: Greatness Expected
“The one who beat me up most was Rob. But I figured out a secret move I called the Treatment.”