Rob Gronkowski says he regrets missing the night Bill Belichick made a surprise return to Foxborough. The former Patriots tight end was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame on Saturday, Nov. 7, but spent that evening at West Point for a Fox Veterans Day show instead of at the team’s 2016 reunion party, where Belichick turned up.[1][2]
Related: Gronkowski Gets His Red Jacket as Brady, Vrabel and 60-Plus Ex-Patriots Join Hall of Fame Ceremony.
What Gronkowski said
Gronkowski talked about the missed night on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams.[1] He said he had to go to West Point to celebrate with the troops for Veterans Day on the Fox show, so he did not get to celebrate with his teammates or his family on Saturday night.[1] He said he had heard many stories about the party and had work the next morning.[1]
“I wish I could have been there, but unfortunately I just couldn’t,” Gronkowski said.[1]
For the Fox segment, Gronkowski appeared before Army cadets in the Army’s new green uniform with a helmet hiding his face, then took the helmet off to reveal who he was.[1]
Belichick’s detour to Foxborough
Belichick was a surprise guest at a reunion dinner for the 2016 Patriots at Davio’s Steakhouse at Patriot Place, MassLive’s Matt Vautour first reported.[2] He had coached North Carolina to a 38-21 win at UConn that afternoon.[2] The weekend marked 10 years since the 2016 team erased the largest deficit in Super Bowl history.[2] That team beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in Super Bowl LI, the fourth of Belichick’s six Super Bowl titles in New England.[1]
Former players and coaches at the reunion included Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, James White, Malcolm Butler, Stephen Gostkowski, David Andrews, Patrick Chung and longtime offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia.[2]
In his induction speech, Gronkowski called Belichick the greatest of all time and thanked him for pushing him to play at a high level.[2] Belichick returned the praise after the UNC game, calling Gronkowski the best tight end in football during his era.[2] “We wouldn’t have won as many games as we did without him,” Belichick said.[2]
Tom Brady’s wedding-morning surprise
Tom Brady, in town to call the Patriots-Packers game for Fox on Sunday, also made the trip to Foxborough for Gronkowski’s ceremony.[4] Before he left, he stopped to meet a bride.[3]
Lauren Andriolo of Watertown, a lifelong Patriots fan, was getting ready for her wedding at The Langham in Boston that Saturday when she learned Brady was staying on the same floor.[3] As Brady was leaving for the induction, a member of his team knocked on her door, and the two shook hands and posed for a photo.[3] She texted the photo, with no message, to her husband-to-be, Nick.[3]
“It was a kind of a pinch me moment,” Andriolo told NBC10 Boston.[3] Her wedding party had 12 members, matching Brady’s old uniform number.[3] The Watertown couple later went on a “mini-moon” in Maine.[3]
What’s next for the Patriots
The current Patriots play the Detroit Lions in Munich on Sunday morning. See the Patriots’ injury report for the Lions game in Munich and our earlier look at Gronkowski’s career as the team’s 80-touchdown leader.
More coverage: Patriots · Boston sports.
Sources
- Yahoo Sports (EssentiallySports): “Unfortunately, I Just Couldn’t”: Rob Gronkowski Regrets Missing Bill Belichick at Patriots HOF Reunion for Fox Duties
- Boston.com: Bill Belichick reportedly joined Patriots for 2016 reunion dinner in Foxborough
- NBC Boston: Boston bride gets surprise visit from Tom Brady hours before her wedding
- Boston.com: Tom Brady surprised Boston bride on day of her wedding
Read next in Boston Local News
Boston Local NewsHow to Watch Patriots vs. Lions in Munich: 9:30 a.m. Kickoff on FOX, Streaming, Radio and Preview
Boston Local NewsA.J. Brown and Rhamondre Stevenson Among 9 Patriots Questionable for Lions Game in Munich
College SportsBoston College’s Alumni Stadium to Host 4 MIAA Football Super Bowls After Gillette Exit
Most read this week
- Finland Confirms Strike on Russian Warship in Gulf of Finland; Ukraine’s SBU Claims Drone Attack
- U.S. Envoys Witkoff and Kushner Hold Talks With Putin in Moscow, Then Head to Dublin to Brief Zelensky
- Israeli Strike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital Kills Six, Including a Surgeon, Health Ministry Says
- Nvidia Board Hires Wachtell’s Joon Kim to Lead Huang Probe as Shares Fall 5.47% and an Investor Sues
- Drones Kill Workers at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear and Thermal Plants, IAEA Says, as Russian Strikes Hit 5 Substations
Latest
- Massachusetts Fights to Stay a Quantum Hub as Washington and Rival States Pour Billions Into the Race
- Blood Test Spots Signs of Advanced CTE in Early Study of 11 Autopsy-Confirmed Cases
- CMS Lets States Hold Off on Medicaid Work-Rule Coverage Cuts Through June 2027
- JSX Will Fly From Hanscom Field to New York and Miami in February, Its First Massachusetts Routes
- Massachusetts Business Filings Up 11% in 2026: Where Boston Founders Get Free Help and Loans
Get The Boston Report Briefing
Our free weekly email with the most important stories from Boston and the world. Unsubscribe anytime.
Free. We never sell your address. Privacy policy