Make Way for Gronklings
Photos by Megan Tripp
This morning, Mother Mallard and her ducklings in the Public Garden dressed up in their best Gronk gear in anticipation of Rob Gronkowski’s possible return to the Patriots this weekend. Nancy Schon’s iconic Make Way for Ducklings statues, affectionately known as the ducklings, became little “Gronklings” dressed in red, white, and blue.
Visitors snapped pictures of the ducklings’ Gronk gear: Mother Mallard sported a “Gronk’s back better than ever!” T-shirt and a Gronk hat, while her ducklings hurried along behind her in shirts with sayings like “Gronk is my hero,” “Honk if you love Gronk!” and “Get Gronked!”
Gronkowski, as we reported earlier this week, has been sorely missed this season due to a back surgery and the subsequent recovery period. But his doctors might clear him to play this weekend, and the ducklings are celebrating with the rest of the city.
The Make Way for Ducklings statues are no strangers to attention; they are a regular tourist destination, having even inspired a Mother’s Day celebration, and anonymous fans have dressed them up in celebration of the Pats before. But today’s just might be the cutest dress-up yet.
