After a tough loss in Super Bowl 52, New England Patriots Tight End Rob Gronkowski aka “Gronk” has been thinking about his future. Lately, there has been speculation that he is considering retirement. As one of his biggest and most loyal fans, I would like to point out a few reasons why he should stay and continue to do his infamous Gronk spikes after every touchdown he scores.
Firstly, the most obvious reason, he is arguably if not the, one of the best, tight ends in not only Patriots but NFL history. I could write an article alone about his high and record breaking stats. However, I’ll just highlight a few. In the history of the Patriots, he has had the most career touchdown receptions with a not too shabby 76. Also, out of every Patriot, he has a whopping 16 games in which he scored multiple touchdowns. In the history of the NFL, he holds the record for most career postseason receiving touchdowns by a tight end with 12. Like I said, these are just a few highlights from the many records he has broken during his 8 years in the league. And if that wasn’t enough, he has 2 super bowl rings.
Secondly, Gronk may appear to be one of the largest football players in the world but his heart is definitely the largest of all. Gronk and his brothers have done a lot of charity work to help different people (primarily kids) across New England and the rest of the country with the “Gronk Nation Youth Foundation.” On their website, it says, “The Gronk Nation Youth Foundation is dedicated to inspiring youth to reach their maximum potential through sports, education, community and fitness. Our mission is to help kids stay actively involved in school and sports and provide them with the tools needed to help them follow their dreams and live a happy and more successful life.” A shining example of this was in May 2017 when the organization donated $70,000 to Boston Public Schools for female sporting equipment. Gronk is also known to be a frequent visitor at the Boston Children’s Hospital. In February 2018, he visited and donated $25,000 each to 3 different children’s hospitals within 24 hours. He is also known to shave his head every year for cancer research. Gronkowski even refers to himself as just a “big kid” while using his platform to inspire and be a role-model for children everywhere.
Another thing that makes Gronk so special is his one-of-a-kind personality. Over the years, he has made himself known as the life of the party – everywhere he goes is always a good time. He also loves to dance. In fact, in May 2016, Justin Timberlake retweeted a video of Gronk dancing to his song Can’t Stop the Feeling saying, “Ladies, THE GRONK. Get it playboy….#thosemovestho”
Gronk has done everything from hosting a cruise ship party in 2016 to shot-gunning a beer while hanging off of a Duck Boat during the Patriots Super Bowl Victory Parade because, in his own words, “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t even planning on partying, But the fans were asking for it. And I’m giving the fans what they wanted. … So, I party for the fans. That’s how we do it. That’s how we roll.”
Gronk has also had several commercial and interview moments that have made us all laugh. Among the most memorable are his Dunkin Donuts commercials with former Red Sox star, David Ortiz aka ‘Big Papi” where they made multiple music videos and just sang about iced coffee. I even remember during football season, a few people at SHU noticed me wearing a Gronk shirt and said to me, “You know, I may hate the Patriots but you can’t not love Gronk.”
Rob Gronkowski has become a positive and lively household name across America. Whether it be because of his moves on the football field or the dancefloor, he always manages to brighten up everyone’s day. That’s why it would be HEARTBREAKING if he retired. So, Gronk, on behalf of the many people who love you and all your craziness, please don’t retire but most importantly, keep being you and never change!