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 who grabbed the trophy, preventing it from falling into the river.
“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.”
But why didn’t he?
It’s because Gronk likes his alcohol. He was too inebriated to catch anything and doesn’t remember much from that day. He admitted that he wouldn’t have jumped into the river had the trophy fallen into the water as he was “out of his mind.”
“I was absolutely hammered. If that trophy did fall into the sea, I would have definitely let it go right then and there because I would have possibly drowned because I was out of my mind.”
Gronkowski did reveal that he would have been out there after a while to look for the trophy with a scuba team, diving to retrieve it. It was no secret that Gronk was drinking heavily, which left him inebriated.
So why did Brady throw the trophy towards him?
Brady too was quite hammered
TB12 made a career out of throwing perfect passes and Gronk made a career out of catching those balls during their NFL runs. Apparently, he thought he could do the same with his 7th Lombardi Trophy during Tampa’s Super Bowl celebration in the water.
What possessed him to try his luck with precious silverware? Well, according to his 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.”
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, Rob 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. In fact, that scene might have been even more iconic than Brady’s throw itself.
