Tampa Tom was a lot more relaxed and fun. Nothing showcased this more than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl parade on the Hillsborough River in 2021 when Tom Brady famously tossed the Lombardi Trophy from one boat to another. Despite the real risk of it falling into the water and sinking, the quarterback went for it. As it turns out, that gamble nearly backfired — because while someone did make the catch, it wasn’t Brady’s favorite target.
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During the latest episode of the Dudes on Dudes podcast, Rob Gronkowski admitted that contrary to what people thought, it wasn’t him who caught the Lombardi Trophy when Brady threw the coveted prize toward him. It was Tampa’s other TE, Cam Brate, who rose to the occasion to save the trophy.
“Tom threw that Super Bowl trophy and everyone thinks I caught that. But I can tell you this- I didn’t catch that Super Bowl trophy. That was the other Tight End,” said Gronk.
Brate, the savior, had described it as “the best catch” of his life. “Unbelievable. If I had dropped that? I think I would’ve had to retire,” he added.
But why didn’t Rob go for the catch? Well, Gronk likes his alcohol. And it was a day to celebrate. Add both factors, and we can imagine how high Gronk would have been that day.
Gronkowski was so inebriated that he doesn’t remember much. He admitted that he wouldn’t have jumped into the river had the trophy fallen into the water.
“I was absolutely hammered. If that trophy did fall into the sea [Hillsborough River], I would have definitely let it go right then and there because I would have possibly drowned because I was out of my mind,” admitted Gronk.
The TE, however, did state that he would have been out there to look for the trophy and retrieve it with a scuba team.
It was no secret that Gronk was drinking heavily that day and admittedly “out of his mind” to do anything coherent. But why did Brady throw the trophy toward him in the first place?
Brady too was quite hammered
TB12 had made an NFL career out of throwing perfect passes and Gronk, in turn, earned his stripes catching those balls. Apparently, Brady thought he could do the same with his 7th Lombardi Trophy during Tampa’s Super Bowl celebration. And, according to Brady’s own admission, he — much like his TE — was drunk out of his mind.
“I was definitely inebriated, because had I not been, I don’t think I would’ve taken the chance realizing that thing would’ve fallen like 90 ft. to the bottom of the bay,” Tom revealed once.
The most impressive pitch and catch of @TomBrady‘s career
(: @abcactionnews / @nflnetwork) pic.twitter.com/s88StyvLiE
— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) February 10, 2021
Brady believes that if the trophy had fallen into the river, it would have been a disaster of epic proportions. However, Gronkowski wasn’t convinced that TB12 was actually that drunk.
According to him, the seven-time Super Bowl champ only had a couple of drinks but played it up as if he had been deep in the bottle.
We may never know the full truth, but one thing is certain — it’s a good thing the trophy didn’t end up in the river. Watching Tampa players dive in, scrambling to retrieve it, would have been both tragic and hilarious.
