It's hard to imagine there ever will be a football player like Rob Gronkowski.
There won't be a player who can single-handedly win a game for a team like Gronkowski did in 2017 at Pittsburgh when he finished with 168 total yards, including three straight receptions on the final drive in the closing minutes going for 26, 26 and 17 yards to set up the eventual game-winning score.
There won't be a tight end who can score 18 touchdowns in a single season (2011) to lead the entire NFL in that category.
And there won't be a player who is so powerful he can block a player (Sergio Brown) "out of the club," practically into the stands.
On the field, Gronkowski was a once in a lifetime player who will one day be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You never know what could happen down the road with a player being just as dominant on the field, but what makes it almost a guarantee there will never be another Gronkowski is the way he was off the field.
Simply put, Gronkowski is just an outstanding human being and that isn't always true with some superstars regardless of the sport they play. Yes, sometimes he may not make a heck of a lot of sense, but you always know he means well and it's usually all in good fun.
Prior to the Super Bowl we spoke to dozens of Patriots players to relay their favorite memories of the tight end, and almost every single one of them said something that didn't take place in a game.
Whether it was how hard he worked in practice, how he would go out of his way to do anything for a teammate, or just have fun with absolutely anything and everything, that is what defines the 29-year-old.
And nothing was an act, either.
A word many players used when describing him was genuine, and he was as genuine as it gets. Robert Kraft put it best in his statement Sunday night: "In the nine years that I have known Rob Gronkowski, I have never known him to have a bad day."
Gronkowski just loved what he did.
He loved competing — not only in games, but with himself during the week and offseason to make sure he was doing everything he could to make himself the best player possible. He loved football. While it's hard to believe sometimes, he was one of the smartest players on the team who knew the playbook like the back of his hand.
While he came across as the goofy player just having a good time, you'd be hard-pressed to find a player who worked harder than him, especially the last several years.
And then there's how much he gave back to the community.
No one did more charity work in the last nine years with the Patriots than Gronkowski, which was acknowledged publicly in 2016 when he won the Ron Burton Community Service Award, but a lot of his work went without the recognition.
The tight end would show up at Boston hospitals unannounced to bring cheer to sick children, and when schools/families faced tragedy, Gronkowski would be the one to help them get through it. It wasn't like he coasted through these appearances, either. Often times he was having just as much fun as the kids he was with.
Athletes like this are a rare breed and are almost unheard of for players of Gronkowski's caliber. It would be totally acceptable to say no to a few charity appearances and things of that nature, but that's just not who Gronkowski is. He's a genuine person who simply is enjoying life and wants to spread that joy.
So, while everyone can see Gronkowski's dominance on the field on Sundays, what they can't see is how he's just as good off the field when he isn't seen and that is why there will never be another Rob Gronkowski.
Ever.
