Rob Gronkowski made tons of memories in New England in his nine seasons with the Patriots. And many of those came from the three Super Bowl parades that the former tight end was a part of
So on Monday, when he got to serve as the grand marshal at the 2024 Boston Marathon, it reminded him of all those memories.
“It’s going to remind me a lot of the parades that we had here,” Gronkowski said to WCVB Channel 5. “I had three parades while here in New England on those duck boats. Let me tell you, those were the best experiences of my life and today will remind me of those days, driving this course and just wave at the people. Hopefully, no beers are chucked at me.”
Gronkowski's beer comment comes from those memories of being in the Duck Boats and driving through Boston. Fans loved to see his party side come out, so they would make sure he always had a beer in his hand. And that meant that they were throwing it to him at times, which was never the safest idea.
But for Marathon Monday that was less of a concern. And with the sun shining and the runners ready to go, Gronkowski couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
“This is going to be the best day ever," he said. "The weather is perfect. The Boston Marathon runners are ready to run. It couldn’t be a better setting than this."
And getting to serve as the grand marshal at such a historic event in Massachusetts meant so much to the Patriots legend.
“This means a lot to the city of Boston as well. It means a lot to myself,” Gronkowski said. “Since I’ve been here and got drafted to the New England Patriots in 2010, my teammates and the whole entire community in New England welcomed me with open arms. So it’s just an amazing honor to be here and to represent the city of Boston and all of New England. And this is a worldwide event as well. So I’m just excited for it.
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