FOXBORO — It was a fun afternoon at Gillette Stadium, as Rob Gronkowski was officially enshrined as the 38th inductee of the New England Patriots Hall of Fame Saturday afternoon. Several of his former teammates and fellow honorees, including his quarterback Tom Brady, made an appearance at the special event.

It also was a perfect encapsulation of who Gronk was and what he meant to New England. From fun stories shared by his teammates and spiking Green Bay Packers helmets before the ceremony, everything around the induction was just who Gronkowski was as a player.

When it came to his speech, he nailed it — even if he had some uneasy feelings beforehand.

"I wanted to throw up, I really did," Gronkowski told reporters after his speech. "I never really had that feeling. I was like, I want to puke a little bit. I'm that nervous."

Gronkowski didn't end up puking on stage. In fact, he nailed his nearly 18-minute speech in a way that only he'd be able to. Here's some of the best anecdotes, stories and moments from the legendary tight end's time at the microphone:

Remembering His Pre-Draft Visit

It's been said over and over again, how Gronkowski fell asleep during his pre-draft meeting with New England. Ahead of the 2010 Draft, Gronkowski — exhausted from flying across the country — was sitting down in director of scouting administration Nancy Meier's office (who he pointed to during the speech and blamed for telling on him).

Then, he started snoozing.

That part was well know and has been well documented. But Gronkowski shared the reason why he ended up falling asleep.

"I literally laid my head down on the table and took a nap," Gronkowski said. "Coach (Belichick), I just just didn't understand at the time that's called recovery, buddy. Well, after that situation, a couple coaches then drew up a play on the board, erased it, asked me about the routes. I had no clue. I was tired and hungover, which they still don't know. Just told on myself.

Rob Gronkowski, telling his now-infamous story of falling asleep at his Patriots draft visit, said that he was both “tired and hungover.” pic.twitter.com/GQ6c1WV0Da

— Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports) November 7, 2026

"So basically, I said, 'Just throw me the ball. I'll catch it and watch what I do.' They secretly loved it."

The rest was history, as the Patriots traded up to select him with the 42nd pick in the draft.

How He'll Celebrate His Induction

Always down for a party, Gronkowski was excited to mention how he'd celebrate being inducted as the second tight end ever in the Patriots Hall of Fame.

His Gronk Spike became iconic, as did his "Yo soy fiesta" retort back in 2011 — the same one that drew Matt Light to give him a "Yo Soy Fiesta Hall of Famer" shirt prior to his speech. Even though Gronkowski is heading to New York tonight for his day job as a Fox Sports analyst, he's ready to get rowdy as always.

"I owe so much to all of you that tonight, I'll drink a hefty, fat Boston Lager beer," Gronkowski exclaimed. "Cheers to ya'll! Yo soy fiesta, baby!"

He'd later go on to tell reporters he wants Julian Edelman, who has his own beer with Sam Adams, to get ready when he sees him tonight.

"Those are definitely New England beers," Gronkowski said. "I'm going to tell him to have one ready for me."

Flubbing His Words

Again, also in classic Gronkowski form, the speech didn't come without hiccups. Maybe part of it was the nerves.

Explaining what the game of football taught him, he struggled over the word "resiliency." He pointed out that Camille Kostek, his girlfriend and former Patriots cheerleader, jinxed him over saying that word in his speech — and it came back to bite him.

"Play after play. The discipline, the accountability, the resiliency. Camille said 'you can't say that word, take it out,'" he laughed. "She jinxed me, she jinxed me. Well, you need that word because you need it because it's unmatched to play this game. Resiliency. Resiliency. Hey, I got knocked down. I got right back up."

Thanking His Friends, Former Coaches

Gronkowski played with a lot of great players and coaches, plenty of them in the crowd. There were some of his other friends that he wanted to shout out, even though they weren't in attendance.

"I'm still a kid at heart and always will be. Coaches, teammates and friends at Williamsville North (High School), Woodland Hills and the University of Arizona, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all," Gronkowski said. "They're not even here, don't clap for them."

After that, he mentioned his teammates and coaches in New England, shouting out his positional coaches, the training staff and offensive coordinators Bill O'Brien and Josh McDaniels.

Rob Gronkowski to Josh McDaniels in the crowd: “You wish you still had me, buddy.”

— Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports) November 7, 2026

McDaniels, sitting a few rows back, helped Gronkowski "find mismatches" on the field during his stint with the Patriots. The legendary tight end, maybe inadvertently, poked fun at some of the current tight ends, telling McDaniels that he wishes he still had him on his team.

His Iconic Block On Sergio Brown

One of the best Gronkowski stories remains when he blocked Colts defensive back Sergio Brown all the way out of bounds back in 2014. It was a story brought up at least three times during the ceremony, but Gronkowski wanted to explain it his own way when he got the chance.

"There was a safety yapping, yapping, you know, talking trash all game long," Gronkowski said. "I took them and threw them right out of the club, right out of bounds. Classic, and (I) even got Bill to smile. And still to this day, that safety had yet to sniff the dance floor. You talk trash to the Gronkster, I'll teach you a lesson."

The speech ended with Gronkowski reminding the fans at rainy Patriot Place that he will always be a Patriot for life and it's time to fiesta. Like that surprises anyone.