bostonglobe
FOXBOROUGH — When Rob Gronkowski arrived for his fitting for the red jacket that signifies induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame, he had a special request for the tailor: measure his legs as well. The tailor protested, saying only the jacket was needed, but Gronkowski insisted, “No, no, no, no, no. I’m getting pants, too. I’m going to have holes in my pants if it’s up to me to find pants.”
Gronkowski, wearing his unmistakable all-red outfit, was the center of attention on Saturday afternoon. Despite a light rain, more than a thousand fans crowded Patriot Place Plaza to witness his Hall of Fame induction. The crowd even filled the stairs leading to the shops and restaurants, with others lining the fence outside the Harp to get a view of the stage.
A host of former Patriots stars turned out to support Gronkowski, who played nine seasons in New England and won three Super Bowls. Tom Brady, in town for Fox’s broadcast of Sunday’s Patriots-Packers game, appeared in his own red jacket, as did Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. Other attendees included Danny Amendola, David Andrews, Malcolm Butler, Patrick Chung, Stephen Gostkowski, Chris Hogan, Brian Hoyer, Matt Light, Rob Ninkovich, and Matthew Slater. Julian Edelman, who co-hosts a podcast with Gronkowski, sent a video message because he couldn’t attend, and owner Robert Kraft did the same as he recovers from back surgery.
The afternoon was filled with laughter and memories as the group celebrated Gronkowski’s illustrious and entertaining career. Gronkowski shared several stories that drew roars from the crowd. He talked about falling asleep during his pre-draft visit with the Patriots, revealing that he was hungover. He recalled getting a call from Berj Najarian, Bill Belichick’s longtime right-hand man, telling him to stop celebrating with his brothers on stage after the Patriots drafted him in the second round in 2010. He joked about dancing at college pool parties during the NFL lockout following his rookie year. Light gifted Gronkowski a T-shirt that read, “Yo soy Hall of Famer,” a nod to Gronkowski’s famous “Yo soy fiesta” answer during his postgame interview with ESPN Deportes after the 2011 AFC Championship.
Throughout the 90-minute program, Gronkowski’s personality was on full display. He spiked a Packers helmet. He had trouble pronouncing the word “resiliency” during his speech, saying his girlfriend, former Patriots cheerleader Camille Kostek, had told him in advance he should have taken it out. “He is who he is,” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. “For a while, I think sometimes people thought that was a schtick. And it’s not. We got to see that daily.”
Brady didn’t take the microphone but received a warm welcome from the crowd and plenty of praise, and a little ribbing, from Gronkowski. “I saw how Tom worked, I saw what it took to be great, and I wanted to be at that level,” Gronkowski said. “Sometimes I hated staying after practice, like, ‘Oh Rob, run an extra route.’ Why do I got to run an extra route? Finally, it all clicked.”
Gronkowski finished his career with several NFL records, including most receiving touchdowns by a tight end in a season (17 in 2011), most career postseason receiving yards by a tight end (1,163), most career postseason receptions by a tight end (81), and most career receiving touchdowns by a tight end (12). “When you have certain people on your teams that come out before the games, there’s just some people that are different,” McDaniels said. “Everybody would refer to Tom. Certainly, when Tom is on your team, you have a chance to win. There’s other players I feel that way about. [Gronk] was one of the rare guys, that when he came out there for pre-game on game day, you just knew, like, we have somebody that they don’t match up well with.”
Saturday’s impressive turnout underscores just how much the community embraced Gronkowski. The Dunkin on Route 1 even rebranded their signage to “Gronkin” for the weekend. “That’s when you know you’ve made it in New England,” he said. “That’s one of one. I’m at the top. No one else ever got Dunkin Donuts named after them like that.”
After the ceremony concluded, Gronkowski had to fly to West Point for Fox’s Veterans Day pre-game show. He’ll then travel back to Foxborough for the rest of the festivities. “I’m flying right back for the game and tomorrow night will be a celebration with all of my teammates and family,” he said. As he said at the conclusion of his speech, “Now let’s fiesta!”
Originally reported by bostonglobe.