Rob Gronkowski is nice. So nice that he invited exactly 69 friends and family members to accompany him to the Super Bowl.
On the football field, Rob Gronkowski is not nice. He hits hard. He catches touchdowns. He lets opposing defenders know that they have no hope of keeping up with him. Off the field, he’s an entirely different character. He shotguns beers and takes selfies with adoring fans and generally brings a bundle of silly-string coated mayhem with him wherever he goes.
He also, per Sports Illustrated, loves the number 69:
"He once purposely missed a free throw in high school to keep his team’s score at 69. He struggled to stop himself from laughing after catching his 69th touchdown pass. He even put 69 on the back of his jersey in masking tape. And this year—coincidence or not—he had…wait for it…69 catches."
According to his website, Gronk Nation, the big guy also was nice enough to invite exactly 69 members of his friends and family to accompany him to this year’s Super Bowl in Minneapolis. Gronkowski was recently cleared from the league’s concussion protocol and will play as his New England Patriots try to claim another title, this time by knocking off the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Sixty-nine people is a lot of logistics to manage. That’s 69 plane or bus tickets, at least 30 hotel rooms, and, one would assume, at least a handful of vans (or party busses) to get everyone from their accommodations to the big game. And who wants to go to the game without souvenirs and refreshments. 69 hot dogs. 69 programs. 69 ice cold Domestic Light Beer Products (assuming nobody wants in seconds).
Rob Gronkowski loves the people who have supported him, all 69 of him. It sure is nice of him to show them how much he appreciates them.