Rob Gronkowski wears a lot of hats. Not only was he arguably the greatest tight end the NFL has ever seen (there would be no debate if it weren’t for his many injuries), but he was also somehow one of the league’s resident fun and tough guys all at the same time. But despite that testosterone-fuelled identity, Gronkowski is something else above all: a mama’s boy.
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Gronk was the second-youngest of a five-boy brood for Diane Walters and her husband, Gordon Gronkowski. Not only do all five share a special bond with their loving mother, but they also went on to careers as professional athletes like Rob.
None of them reached the heights that Rob did with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they made the show nonetheless. That’s nothing to scoff at.
And a big reason that all five boys were so successful in athletics was the support and guidance of Walters, who was a homemaker from the 1980s to the 2000s. No doubt Gordon, who was a guard at Syracuse in his heyday, contributed some solid genes there.
But Walters was the family quarterback. And on Wednesday, she was spending time with Gronk for her 64th birthday, even when he was doing an appearance on Kay Adams’ show.
“Hey, momma Gronk come on over! We’re talking about you already,” Rob said after calling his mother onto the interview.
“Kay just brought up the green spatula that you used to spank me with,” he continued. “Yeah, she’s here in the house, she wants to come say hi to you Kay, it’s her 64th birthday today. She’s the best mother of all time. She raised five sons; she did a great job. She got me to all my practices and games, she got me to where I am today, Kay!”
Apart from Rob, there were four other athletic rascals that Ms. Walters (she and Gordon divorced in 2008) had to deal with.
- There was Gord Jr. (Gordie), the eldest (born in 1983), who made it to the MLB, even if for a short time.
- Then came Dan (born in 1985), who was a 2009 NFL seventh-round pick at wide receiver who spent five years in the league.
- Next was Chris (born in 1986), who was an undrafted fullback in 2010 who latched on with several teams for four seasons.
- Fourth was Rob (born in 1989), who is the superstar of the family, racking up four Super Bowl titles and four First-Team All-Pro honors during an 11-year Hall of Fame career.
- Finally, came Glenn (born in 1993), who was also an undrafted fullback like his big brother Chris, and while he only lasted two seasons, he did win a Super Bowl alongside Rob as a member of the Patriots in 2016.
Diane and Rob were obviously having a great time together, celebrating Diane’s 64th birthday. Gronk also revealed what gift he’d be getting his mother for this year’s celebration.
“I actually got her a bucket list item. And we did presents last night. She always talked about how she wanted to fly first class,” Gronk revealed in the interview.
“Now, let me tell you, she’s flown private plenty of times before, but she’s never flown first-class. So I made it a first-class birthday for her, and I got her two first-class tickets to kinda wherever she wants to go, but I told her she has to go to NYC for Christmas to enjoy the lights and all the snow,” he added.
Adams asked if Diane—who has also written a book about her experience raising five pro athletes—was satisfied with that gift, and she said she was more than happy. It’s always nice to be able to knock off a bucket list item. But especially so when it’s paid for by your loving children!
