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The Summer of Gronk feels entirely different coming off a Super Bowl victory, instead of a loss. But don't tell that to New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski- he can compartmentalize his work from his play, and he'll give 100% to both.
Gronk published a book titled It's Good to Be Gronk and it's all about how he's come to be the goofy, lovable player that we all know today.
He talks about his relationship with his brothers, and how they, uh, were brothers:
Whenever they could catch me, and that was most of the time, Chris would hold me down and Dan would savagely, without mercy, whale on me with his fists, elbows, and knees. The thing is, I always deserved it because I had always started it. And I always started it because after a while, my thighs, shoulders, arms, and stomach all toughened up and the blows didn't hurt anymore. So when I got caught and no matter how hard they punched, elbowed, and kneed me, I could take it and started laughing uncontrollably. It was so much fun to me to tackle them when they weren't looking and I liked it when they beat the hell out of me. There was just nothing they could do to stop me, so it was a nonstop cycle of brawling.
And Gronk also opens up his heart in the book. In a chapter provided to Monday Morning Quarterback, we get an inside glimpse at what was going through Gronkowski's head as he was injured at the University of Arizona, and the mentality and love of the game that he brings every day that helped him to the top of the league.
Gronk clearly trusts those who advise him, whether it be his father, his doctors, or his coaches. He will do what they tell him with full enthusiasm and effort, and it's not hard to see why Bill Belichick loves him. People around the Patriots consider the tight end the perfect ambassador because he helps out charities just as much as he studies the playbook, and studies just as hard as he likes to have fun.
It should be noted that the book was co-authored by Jason Rosenhaus, brother of Gronk's agent Drew Rosenhaus, so it will be run through a filter. But even so, the book is an exciting chance to get deeper in the mind of one of the best football players of his generation.