Rob Gronkowski will be singing national anthem — and ‘grinding’ — at L.A. Bowl game named after him
When Rob Gronkowski was announced as the new host for the college football bowl game at SoFi Stadium earlier this fall, the former NFL great promised he would be involved in the event from beginning to end.
That involvement, he told The Times in October, would include “a live performance by me — it may be at the beginning of the game, it may be at halftime, but I’m gonna be doing a live performance myself as well.”
Turns out, when UCLA plays Boise State in the L.A. Bowl Hosted by Gronk on Saturday, the four-time Super Bowl champion will be performing before the game.
As in, right before kickoff.
“I’m singing the national anthem,” Gronkowski announced in a video posted by TMZ on Monday morning.
The L.A. Bowl Hosted By Gronk is the fulfillment of a dream retired NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski never knew he had. The game is Dec. 16 at SoFi Stadium.
Adolfo Romero, interim executive director of the L.A. Bowl, said in a statement emailed to The Times: “Rob is one-of-a-kind. He was full of creative ideas to enhance the bowl game for fans and put his mark on it as the host. When he expressed interest in singing the national anthem, we knew this could be a special moment for everyone in attendance.”
Gronkowski is almost certainly just a few years away from being enshrined in Canton for his accomplishments as a tight end for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers during his 11-year NFL career. He is also a legendary party animal and has become a sharp businessman and high-profile pitchman.
But even he admits his singing skills may not be the finest — which is why, he said, he’s going to be backed by the New Directions Veterans Choir during his performance of the national anthem.
“It’s kind of like I’m the quarterback and I have the best offensive line in front of me so they can make me look good,” Gronkowski said in the video. “ ‘Cause I sung the national anthem before the [L.A. Bowl] committee and [former Patriots receiver] Julian Edelman was there as well, and Julian looked at me and goes, ‘I need 10 more shots for you to go on so I can keep listening.’ And I was like, ‘I agree with you.’ ”
UCLA, which is coping with calls for Chip Kelly to be fired and the loss of defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, will play in a hometown bowl game.
Gronkowski also said in the video that his namesake bowl game, known in its first two years as the Jimmy Kimmel L.A. Bowl, will also feature a specially created alcoholic beverage called Gronk’s Cooler, which is made with bourbon and strawberry lemonade with the option of vodka-infused whipped cream.
The five-time Pro Bowl selection also will take part in a dance-off against the UCLA and Boise State mascots during a pep rally Friday at American Airlines Plaza outside the stadium and will race against Blitz, the dog who retrieves kicking tees for Boise State, prior to the game.
During the game, Gronkowski will compete in dance-offs against fans in the stadium, with the winner being the person getting the loudest cheers in real time.
“I’m gonna be dancing my face off, grinding — I’m gonna be grinding the goal posts, I don’t care,” Gronkowski told TMZ. “Whatever I gotta do, I’m gonna do.”
Laiatu Latu, who won the Lombardi Award as the nation’s most outstanding lineman and the Hendricks Award as the top defensive end, will not play in the L.A. Bowl.
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