Rob Gronkowski spikes hope of ending retirement, announces 'championship of partying'
Rob Gronkowski set the stage for a big announcement Tuesday morning on his future in football, and while he won’t be returning to the New England Patriots for the playoffs — that was clearly an unlikely decision — he did deliver in a way only Gronk can.
The three-time Super Bowl champion released an Instagram video Tuesday morning that at first continues to tease Patriots fans about his return to football. It quickly pivots, though, and the ensuing 2 minutes are a doozy of a ride.
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It opens with Gronk minding his own business, building a ship in a bottle as one does in retirement, when the Gronk of football past and the Gronk of partying future appear to convince him of his next move.
He will be in Miami for Super Bowl LIV. But he’s not focused on the game. The 30-year-old partying future version of Gronk — the LIT, not the LIV — wins out and announces the GRONK BEACH music festival.
The “championship of partying.” Sippy sip sip!
Gronkowski has until Nov. 30, the business day before the Week 13 game, to request reinstatement to the league after he retired in February following a third Super Bowl win. The Patriots can decide if they want to reinstate him, which owner Robert Kraft has made clear they would. But that was always going to be a long shot and Gronkowski has been playing a tease for a little while now. The 9 a.m. Tuesday “big announcement” was the latest hope for Patriots fans that Gronk made fun of.
“I may not be playing the game this year, but I will still be going to Miami and I’m going to be debuting my very own music festival and it’s Gronk Beach,” Gronkowski said, via CBS Boston. “I mean, you can’t ask for any other situation that’s better than that. Bring some wildness, some fun, to bring a music festival to Miami and not just on top of Miami, at the Super Bowl. It’s really never been done like that before.”
Known to be a big time partier — he is from Buffalo, after all — Gronkowski told CBS Boston it’s a chance for fans to finally party with him. The event, fittingly sponsored by Monster Energy, includes Rick Ross, Flo Rida, DJ Carnage, Kaskade, Diplo and 3LAU.
Of course, this is still Gronk we’re talking about and the tease continues. Gronk Beach is one night, and one night only for now.
“OK maybe we call an audible,” Gronk of football past says before the major announcement, “but just for this year.”
We’ll see which Gronk wins out next season and if Tom Brady has changed his tune on lobbying Gronk after an unhappy November game.
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