Rob Gronkowski spiked his first pitch for the Red Sox and, honestly, what did we expect?

What better way to honor Patriots Day than with a Patriot legend doing the thing that helped make him legendary?

Rob Gronkowski found a way to make one of the NFL’s oldest and simplest touchdown celebrations — the spike — and make it his own. He did this not through a clever twist or innovative move, but because he’s big as hell and found the end zone a lot. 107 times in nine seasons as a pro, in fact.

While the final two years of that career came as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, he’s best remembered for the seven he spent in New England. Gronkowski won three Super Bowl rings alongside Tom Brady in the Patriots’ second dynasty era. Thus, it made sense for him to be invited to Fenway Park to toss out the ceremonial first pick of the Boston Red Sox’ annual Patriots Day game.

And Gronk made sure to remind everyone what holiday it was once he took the mound.

An epic first pitch from Gronk pic.twitter.com/zRay6vA2D5

— MLB (@MLB) April 15, 2024

Rather than risk the humiliation of a horrible first pitch — known these days as a 50 Cent but previously a dishonor claimed by Baba Booey and Michael Jordan — Gronkowski leaned in and smashed the ball into the mound. Though it didn’t have the resilient, unpredictable bounce of a football, the point was made. Gronk remains Gronk, whether he’s at Gillette Stadium or Fenway Park.