Mother Nature apparently ruined Rob Gronkowski’s “Kick of Destiny.”
On Sunday, the retired All-Pro tight end missed a field goal attempt while starring in the first-ever live Super Bowl commercial with FanDuel Sportsbook.
Gronkowski, who filmed the commercial at an undisclosed location in Phoenix, Ariz., later blamed powerful winds for shifting the direction of the football at the last second.
“I am not one to make excuses, but if you were out here and felt this wind, you would know why I missed, and if there was no wind, it would’ve went right down the middle,” Gronkowski said in a Twitter video by FanDuel. “But it’s OK, because I don’t make excuses, but I was just letting you know.”
During a Monday appearance on FanDuel TV’s “Up & Adams,” Gronkowski further explained that Mother Nature shut down his plans for a successful kick.
“I felt the confidence that it was going through no matter what and then I looked up and it was soaring and then all of a sudden I swear, a wind gust came up there,” Gronkowski told host Kay Adams. “Mother Nature was like ‘no, no, no, no, no, Gronk, you’re not scoring again in the Super Bowl. You have too many touchdowns in the Super Bowl, let people catch up to you. Let people catch up in points to you, you don’t need field goal points too.’
“Mother Nature just sent this powerful wind when the ball was about to go right through the uprights, right down the middle — you can even watch it, it’s going directly through. Then all of a sudden, whoop… just swooped the football and it went wide left the tiniest bit.”
Gronkowski’s commercial aired in the third quarter of Kansas City’s eventual 38-35 win over the Eagles in Super Bowl 2023.
The four-time Super Bowl winner, Gronkowski attempted the kick from 25 yards out, according to Sports Business Journal, which is eight yards closer than an NFL extra-point attempt.
“I was 5-for-5 on rehearsal day,” he said. “I felt great warming up I was really loose when it came to the third quarter… I had a lot of practice runs before to keep me loose and feeling good,” Gronkowski said. “I was not nervous one single bit, I felt like I had it for sure.”
Although Gronkowski missed the kick, FanDuel Sportsbook still honored its promotion that promised to give away $10 million in free bonus bets to fans if his kick attempt was successful.
Now, Gronkowski is planning his next challenge.
“I’m gonna have to have a redemption one day,” he said. “I’m gonna have to do something. I’m not sure what it’s gonna be yet, but I’m going to have to do another, something of destiny, where I can do it and accomplish something for America. I gotta make up for it and I’m going to, but we’ll see down the future what it’s going to be.”