Let me begin this column, more of an emotional purging in preparation for a new football season really, by saying I'll always wish the two men at said diatribe's epicenter well. Not a moment of ill will or poor health to either. I refuse to give any credence to the idea that Boston sports fans are bad people or carry malice in their hearts. Especially with what they did for and meant to us for years, decades even, on and off the field.
Yes, I understand that no fanbase in sports, at least not in professional football, may have ever had it better, ever, than Pats fans, over the past twenty years. Why there's a brand new book called "The Dynasty" that details just how improbable the Patriots double-dynasty run was. The two players herein were more than integral to our football team's competitive relevance and constant, unparalleled success. If anything their greatness spoiled us and gave birth to the "Entitled Town" nickname (See how I'm already kinda passing the buck? Classic Masshole move.)
And of course, during a pandemic, with greater real-life concerns like health issues, business closings, and educational alterations, not to mention societal injustices and protests of great consequence, I understand we're talking something as seemingly trivial as football fandom. Among grown adults. Who have so many championship shirts in their collection they could wear a different one each day and not repeat garb for over a month. Perspective is key, maybe now more than ever, and has to be maintained like social distancing and hand washing. This is all in good fun. Mostly. But I have a job. My health. A happy family. And years of joyous football memories to look back on. I'm a lucky man, and fan, for want of little more.
With all this laid out, I'm now comfortable saying that I'm rooting for Tom Brady this year ... and not so much for Gronk.
I said it. I mean it. I'll own it. Rock on, TB12. For shame, Mr. Recovery.
And I don't think I'm alone on this one. Allow me to explain.
A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady) on Jan 20, 2019 at 10:17pm PST
The thought of Brady playing for someone else still gives me tequila hangover dry heaves, but there was a note of relief to some in Pats Nation once Brady announced he was setting sail to captain the team that has a pirate ship in their stadium. Of course, we wanted him to finish his career in the uniform he began it in! There's no denying Brady looked better in Pats blue and silver than Tampa pewter and creamsicle. But it just seemed like it was time, that the surreal and spectacular football marriage of Brady and Belichick had run its course ("The Dynasty" author Jeff Benedict detailed as much to us in an interview Aug 31).
Now some might argue that Brady changed over the years for the worse. That he's not the same regular guy, and his stratospheric surge into superstardom altered his path. Spoiler alert: we all change!
Maybe going from regular guy who lived his dream, and ours, to the status of international celebrity, brand and icon, can alter your personal landscape. Most of us can't relate to someone who drives $300,000 cars, wears $300 t-shirts and is married to one of the most famous women in the world. But so what! This is Touchdown Tom! He won us multiple Super Bowls. Orchestrated 28-3! Kept our team in contention and our enemies under thumb.
Now TB and AG will be patrolling another sideline, albeit a loaded one talent-wise, scoring and stretching much further south, and we'd be lying if we said we wouldn't be keeping track of his second act, cheering his every success. He did what was best for him and we still get our team, and to watch him. Pretty good double-dip if you ask me. Brady forever remains an extension of our sports fan selves. No matter how the 2020 Pats perform, we'll miss Brady each and every Sunday until he hangs it up for good, which may still be a while. I mean, am I really not going to root for a guy I kinda owe my career and the name of my firstborn to?
The same, at least for me, can not be said of Brady's new-ish teammate in Tampa, aka the artist formerly known as Gronk. OK, I'm being extra salty here, but it feels good for a moment. Like I said, kinda therapeutic. Because while Boston sports fans aren't evil, we can be prickly, especially when we feel our loyalties were toyed with. Also, it's kind of a birthright. But Gronk's journey to Tampa feels different than Brady's, to a point that I feel...not betrayed, maybe just played.
At the height of his Patriots powers, nobody might have been more popular in New England, maybe ever, than Gronk. That includes Brady, the Kennedys, anyone named Adams, you name it. The super successful gigantic frat-tastic manchild who made the impossible possible on the field while living a life off the field that resembled hosting a permanent kegger at your parents' house the weekend they were away. Gronk was the local definition of "men want to be him, women want to be with him".
Goofy, giving, personable and ridiculous, we were equally blown away by his on-field achievements while laughing at and with his off-field antics. He was the #1 wish list guest for every cookout. His jersey was borderline New England formalwear it was so popular. Fans looked forward to his highlight plays more than free beers and holiday breaks. He fit in and was one of our own; Gronk. A nickname, a verb and a coveted way of life. Belichick took a chance in the 2010 draft, selecting the injury-plagued tight end out of Arizona, and following his draft night dance he, and his team, and we the fans, were rewarded beyond any and all expectations. And 12 to 87? Forget about it. That made fans go six to midnight faster than hearing, "Next round is on the house!" Best QB. Best TE. The days of Bud Light and Roses in Foxboro.
Even though it all seemed perfect, it wasn't. Whatever it was that dogged Gronk during his time with the Pats was no big deal to us, so long as he stayed true to himself and the fans. Dating a pornstar? Dancing like a madman at parties after victory and weirdly in defeat? Missing games due to injury? NBD. Gronk partied hard off the field, yet always showed up and played hard on the field. This was all just part of his makeup and a side effect to his style of play. But towards the end of his time with the Pats things got weird. There was word Gronk wanted a new contract, and felt he was underpaid (a fiasco once detailed by his brother Chris on the WEEI airwaves).
We knew he never spent his contract money, only sponsor dollars, and that his dad kind of pulled the strings behind the scenes. But this wasn't an act, right? He wasn't just seling us his boyish charm and well-blended mix of gridiron goofiness and greatness all in the name of calculated pigskin profiteering, we hope. We'll always respect the hustle, especially if it's mutually beneficial, but when Gronk acted out in that awful motocross presser in 2018 ... woof! Not exactly a great negotiating tactic or showcase of commitment to the fans who worship you. Word leaked that Belichick was ready to trade Gronk to Detroit, but all parties agreed to work it out. Calmer heads prevailed, and though Gronk himself said he felt a step behind that season the results come February 2019 in Atlanta were inarguable. His final catch in a Pats uniform a perfect coda to what he would soon tell us was a great, if not short, Hall of Fame career.
March 2019 brought the sudden retirement announcement, catching us and the team off-guard on a Sunday night. He was too banged up after all the football and fiestas. We'd miss him, but word was he could barely move after a hit in Super Bowl 53, and we knew he was a walking Operation game after so many breaks, tears and hits. There's no replacing Gronk, as we saw on the field last year where the Pats were dead last in tight end production. Rumors swirled he might return, and we got our hopes up...only to be toyed with time and again, met with announcements of commentator gigs, wrestling events and endorsement deals with Perry Antelman. We wanted to hear he was coming back to join Tom for one last LFG! Instead we got WWE and CBD. It felt kinda gross, like our fandom was being taken for granted or even abused in the sake of brand expansion. By the time Gronk teased one final big reveal in the fall of 2019, those of us still gullible enough to think it would be for a run at the Super Bowl felt burned when we found out it was for a party...at the Super Bowl. The Gronk Beach promo video toyed with fans too much, and where there was acceptance there now was anger. Enjoy the party, Gronk! Smash 'n dash your way through whatever retirement nonsense you want. Just quit teasing Pats fans when you know the team is struggling to replace you. Tone deaf comes to mind. And so by the time Spring 2020 comes around, and Brady's gone, and there's no live sports, and people are home without a lot of hope, the oh-so sudden unretirement and immediate trade of Gronk to Tampa to be reunited with Brady felt, well, if we're being real, like a slap to the face after a kick in the junk. You know, like a night at Gronk Beach.
A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady) on Apr 22, 2020 at 7:16am PDT
We later heard Brady reached out to Gronk to see if he was interested in a return. Gronk, now a year removed from football, was healed and hyped to get back after it. Just not in Foxboro. Or with Belichick as his coach. And we get it, Bill can be tough. Joyless. A hardass who drives legends crazy treating them like Johnny Foxboro. But his methods work. He did draft and coach Gronk into greatness. And also, what about the fans, Gronk? What about the fans who named pets and boats and kids after you? The Foxboro Faithful who adored and idolized his every move and were willing to look past the stand-up shows for a chance to celebrate another Gronk Spike? Also, it seems curious that the same contract Gronk groused about in 2018, and tolerated on the way to his third SB ring, was now good enough with Brady and his new toys in Tampa? It all felt cold and calculated, and though not a fan will ever deny the joy he brought in his near-decade of positional dominance, or rescind the appreciation of his effort and sacrifice...this was too much. In but one frustrating supposedly retired offseason Gronk scorched all the amnesty he'd built up with hisloyal Pats Nation fanbase. Oh sure, he can do what he wants. If his desire to play has regenerated, and playing with Brady is the only way he'll come back, fine by me!
Sure, we kinda wanted Brady to be there on his own. TB in TB was HIS solo adventure and we could watch with less pain. But 12 to 87 elsewhere while uncertainty swirls off Route 1 is a rough look. Besides, when Joe Montana went to Kansas City Jerry Rice didn't join him after teasing fans with an expensive bro-centric beach bash! I'll always love Gronk in a Patriots uniform. And hey, maybe he's rediscivered his joy of football, as the incessant flurry of Buccaneers social media suggests. But the 24/7 WWE champion (who other wrestlers thought was "f***ing a clown"). The FOX NFL announcer who looked like a Russian assassin. Sorry Gronk, I'll always look back at your Patriot Days as the GOATE (Greatest Of All Tight Ends) days. Unstoppable. Unbelieveable. Unparalleled. But your "surprise" second stint in Tompa Bay as The Gronkaneer? To quote the American music poet Randy Jackson, "It's gonna be a no from me, dawg."
And yes, this comes from a fan who owes some career juice to, and even got to film a TV commercial with, you.
A post shared by Rob Gronkowski (@gronk) on Jul 28, 2020 at 6:01am PDT
This was cathartic, if not at times redundant. But that's the way these breakup columns go. We read earlier this week about what Brady went through to take the field for his heroic 2017 AFCCG comeback, his throwing hand torn up, his emotions a mess, and his coach far from sympathetic. Regardless of how the TB/BB marriage ended I can't help but always root for the man who risked life and limb and delivered more during his days in Entitled Town than Big Papi, The Truth and Big Z combined. Brady was nothing but class as he etched an untouchable legacy for his fans. No denying what Gronk accomplished or meant for nine seasons, either. But one stunt and sales pitch too many, and now that guy wearing 87 on the end of the throws from the new 12 in Tampa? That guy's just some Gronk that I used to know.