The New England Patriots won their sixth Lombardi Trophy this past February, defeating the L.A. Rams in the lowest scoring Super Bowl in history in Atlanta.
As always, the Pats celebrated their championship with a parade and took the trophy on the road to various events with some of their players to show it off in front of their fans. One such stop was made to a Red Sox game this season, where a few players, including now-retired star tight end Rob Gronkowski, would go out and throw the first pitch.
Prior to that, though, a minor disaster struck when Gronk got hold of the trophy while he, Julian Edelman, and others were warming up for the first pitch. Gronk decided to step up to the proverbial plate with the trophy in hand as a bat and, while none of his teammates thought he would actually try to hit a baseball with the Lombardi Trophy, proceeded to do just that and dent the thing.
.@RobGronkowski left a mark on this organization.
And on the sixth Lombardi. pic.twitter.com/t5IVTyCXcA
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) April 17, 2019
As his teammates explain, Gronk is probably one of the few that can get away with something like this and it certainly adds a bit of extra character — and helps make their sixth trophy stand out from the rest. We don’t know exactly what’s next for Gronk as he exits the football field, but it’s fitting that he’s left an indelible mark on a physical piece of Pats history on his way out the door.