Celebrate Gronk’s Maybe-Return with His New Commercial/Film Epic

Rob Gronkowski’s agent confirmed to several outlets that doctors have cleared the tight end to play in Sunday’s game, so what better way to reflect on his long absence (should he indeed play—these ducklings have had their hopes dashed before) than with a sappy commercial looking back on his injuries.

Lucky for you, there’s BodyArmor’s new pseudo-documentary, which begins with sad Gronk in a reclining chair but ends with the return of Rise-and-Grind Gronk doing physical therapy drills to get his body back into shape. The ad is clearly meant to have the emotional arc of a great, sappy sports movie montage, but most reviews aren’t giving it that much credit, probably because Gronkowski’s voice over is pretty casual—”It’s the back, too. You gotta rehab both,” he says of his multiple injuries, as drums bang and violins whine incongruously in the background.  NESN calls it “meant-to-be-epic.” Deadspin is less charitable, calling it “silly and trying way too hard,” though both outlets confess secret delight at watching Gronk do anything.

It’s also something of a strange answer to the hype that has increasingly surrounded Gronk’s status and the speed of his recovery. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus sounded frustrated this week, saying “I don’t understand why this story has gotten so much traction,” and, “In Rob’s case, this is really straightforward.” Sure, but producing a remake of Rocky to augur his return to the field doesn’t do much to downplay the specialness of the circumstances.