Boston fans will enjoy what Gronk misses most about New England originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Rob Gronkowski clearly was ready for a change of scenery after his 2018 season with the New England Patriots.
But the tight end still has plenty of love for the region he called home for nine years.
Ahead of the Patriots’ highly-anticipated matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night, Gronkowski spoke with ESPN’s Mike Reiss about his off-field interests in New England, revealing his favorite hiking spots, restaurants and beaches to visit in the area.
Gronk is an athlete at heart, though, and Boston fans will love what the 32-year-old misses most about living New England.
Tom Brady says Gronk’s ‘joy of football’ is back with Bucs
“Going to the Celtics games,” Gronkowski told Reiss. “They would hook us up, front row. Just to go check out an NBA game, being right there on the court, was always really cool.”
Gronkowski attended plenty of Celtics games during his Patriots tenure and always would get a standing ovation from the TD Garden crowd when he appeared on the Jumbotron. Gronk saw some great contests, too, from the Celtics’ overtime win over the Miami Heat in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals to a first-round playoff victory over the Atlanta Hawks in 2016.
While Gronkowski is clearly thriving in Tampa Bay, he no longer has an NBA team nearby — the Miami Heat are a good four-hour drive away — so we can see why he misses watching the C’s in person.
Tom Brady’s return to Foxboro will take center stage Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. ET, but his fellow ex-Patriot should get a warm welcome from the Gillette Stadium faithful as well.