Sports Illustrated Does A Great Feature On Gronk

SI - Robert Goon (really), who along with being a friend and confidant of Rob Gronkowsi serves as Gronk’s contractor, dishwasher, airport chauffeur, security guard and roommate. Goon’s duties include driving and caring for the white party bus that’s parked in the driveway. Gronk bought it from a church on Long Island last summer, thoroughly renovated it and nicknamed it the Sinners Bus. It seats eight comfortably and includes hardwood floors, blinking lights and the kind of sound system one would expect from a nightclub on wheels. Goon flew to Long Island to pick it up and drive it back to Foxboro. It now doubles as an airport shuttle and a tailgate vessel for members of the Gronkowski family flying in for game weekends. “Just a normal party bus, nothing too crazy,” Dan Gronkowski, Rob’s older brother, says nonchalantly. Believe it or not, Gronk’s ownership of the bus can be viewed more as a sign of maturity than of debauchery. After years of being an easy subject for iPhone paparazzi, with gawkers buzzing around him at bars and snapping shirtless photos that inevitably found their way online, Gronk has seen the value in hosting the party instead of seeking it. Goon serves as the driver and makes sure everyone gets home safely—instead of Uber, Gronk jokes, they have Goober. “You can still be having fun,” Gronk says, “but maybe it’s in more of a setting where people don’t know what’s going on.” As Gronk set an NFL record for tight ends by snaring 17 touchdown passes in 2011, Koutouvides cracks up at the memory of the lone wrinkled navy suit and yellow dress shirt that Gronk tossed on the floor after every game, only to pick it all up a week later.

Just a great feature on Gronk in Sports Illustrated today that I thought every Pats fan should read. Like even though everything was exactly what I’d expect to hear about him and already knew it’s still always a good read. He’s still a breath of fresh air. He’s still the #1 guy you want on your team and you want to party with. I mean that story about how he’d wear the same suit every game in his rookie year, take it off in his room, leave it on the ground and then put it back on next Sunday was laugh out loud funny. Vintage Gronk. The most uncomplicated, most endearing meathead in the history of the NFL. #69. Hey Baltimore…Good Luck.