The retired tight end had to quickly improvise when his Fox Sports co-hosts asked him about an NFL player that doesn’t exist.
Rob Gronkowski attends the world premiere of "barbie" at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on July 9, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/01e3942bbc30934968076e84a7a4e81b” class=”caas-img”/>
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Rob Gronkowski attends the world premiere of “Barbie” at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on July 9, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Rob Gronkowski stood up quickly when his Fox Sports colleagues played an epic prank on the former NFL star.
Gronkowski, 35, was the subject of a hilarious prank in which his Fox NFL Sunday co-hosts Jay Glazer, Terry Bradshaw, Michael StrahanHowie Long and Curt Menefee started it in a segment about a fictional Dallas Cowboys player.
“He thought we were going to air an extra segment,” Glazer told viewers before footage of Gronkowski’s prank aired. “Everyone at Fox knows it’s not real, except Gronk.”
He continued: “The premise was I was going to ‘break the news’ that the Cowboys were activating this big Pro Bowl tight end that doesn’t exist and Gronk has to go on to what he thinks is live television to talk of this close group.
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The broadcasters began their prank on the former tight end by discussing “breaking news” out of Dallas that Rich Russo – a fictional player – would be active for the Cowboys’ next game.
Gronkowski looked confused as his co-hosts began discussing Russo’s playing style and their predictions regarding his fictional return to the court.
When Gronkowski was asked to join the conversation, he was quick to add some comments about Russo potentially being “a little rusty coming back” after being injured.
The prank continued until Bradshaw told Gronkowski that Russo was missing “two fingers on his right hand,” to which the former Patriots tight end responded, “So is that okay affect him when he catches a pass?
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Gronk then added, “I still have my five fingers,” prompting his co-hosts to burst out laughing and remind the former NFL star that he has ten fingers total.
Menefee later got candid with Gronkowski.
“It’s a joke. Rich Russo doesn’t play for the Dallas Cowboys,” he said, much to Gronkowski’s surprise and relief.
“I was wondering! I was going to say, right after it was done, ‘Guys, I’ve never heard of Rich Russo in my life,'” Gronkowski told his co-hosts, adding: “You guys had your heads spinning, that’s for sure.”
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The Fox Sports crew showed Gronkowski footage of the prank in a later segment, which the retired player said he was “so excited” to see.
“I learned two things from it: that I’m a funny guy,” Gronkowski said. “Secondly, I’m always ready,” he added of his ability to pretend to have heard of Russo while the cameras were rolling.
Gronkowski first joined Fox’s broadcast team in 2019 after retiring from the NFL. He has become a fan-favorite addition to the channel’s commentary team, which also recently added former teammate Gronkowski. Tom Brady.
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