‘It’s a little bit personal, man.’ Kansas City Chiefs tight end on Gronk at Super Bowl
This Super Bowl has been framed largely as Patrick Mahomes vs. Tom Brady, but there’s another potential GOAT matchup:
Travis Kelce vs. Rob Gronkowski.
Kelce is aware of that, too.
“It’s a little bit personal, man,” he said. “It’s got to be that way. You know I’m here and I’m playing this game to be the best.”
Let us be clear: Kelce is not trash-talking. He and Gronkowski have a strong mutual respect.
“He’s going to go down in history as one of the best players that ever played this game,” Kelce said. “I might be one of the biggest Gronk fans out there, let it be told.”
Kelce said Gronkowski inspired him, and that he’s tried to learn from Gronkowski — his energy, his blocking, or the way Gronkowski uses different speeds at different points in his routes.
Other highlights:
- Kelce was visibly if good-naturedly bothered by hearing Patrick Mahomes said Kelce’s spirit animal was a giraffe. So when given the chance to answer the question in reverse, Kelce didn’t miss: “He’s got a little frog in him. He’s already got the voice of a frog. Who knows, maybe he’ll get a kiss from a princess and turn into a knight.”
- On what he’s learned from offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy: “The mentality of never giving up, the mentality of handling adversity the right way and being accountable for the guy next to you. What coach Bieniemy has done throughout my career is challenge the egos of the guys in the building.”
- On his blocking, and the negative perception of it by many: “I don’t get into, ‘I should be the No. 1 tight end on everybody’s list.’ Like, if you watch Rob Gronkowski play, you’re going to enjoy watching him play and he might be your favorite. I understand that. I’m a fan of the game, and a fan of the position, and I enjoy watching (Gronkowski and San Francisco’s Kittle) myself. So I get it. If people are saying that I can’t block, I must have given them something. They’re not just saying it out of the blue. That’s motivated me to be more accountable for my teammates, to try and be better in that regard in blocking. Whether it’s inline blocking a big guy or trying to get to the second level and just showing effort that I want to be there for my guys. I’ve taken a lot of pride in that.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 5:23 PM.