Rob Gronkowski was present in Columbus for the Big Noon Kickoff at the OSU vs Penn State matchup. Amid the football talk, he poked fun at himself for his tongue-twister of a last name, which has popularly earned him the nickname ‘Gronk’. With Dave Portnoy on his side, he named his No. 1 college football quarterback, a player with whom he nearly shares his name.

We are talking about the Iowa Hawkeyes’ QB Mark Gronowski. “The No. 1 in all college football. His name is almost perfect,” said Rob. “Mark Gronowski, the quarterback from Iowa.” He then proceeded to poke fun at his name. “I feel like one of my family members hit the streets years back ago and slurred their name because they were a little drunk and told a beautiful lady that they made love to. I’m Gronowski,” earning chuckles from Dave and his audience.

He continues. “….and forgot to say the K,” he added. “What do you think about that?” The Bar Stool Founder supplies, “Yeah, you could fit in like as an 18th Gronowski Brother. So, yeah, I get it. I don’t hate that one. Hometown cooking.”

Jimmy Kimmel poked fun at his name back in 2022, when the former NFL player appeared at ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’, describing it as caveman-esque in nature and intimidating due to their physical stature and strength as a family.

Rolling out the ten-lettered name really does require some effort, and the additional ‘K’ is what differentiates the former NFL tight end player from Iowa’s star QB. It’s not as if it’s the same name with different spellings, the way Rob just narrated the funny episode, but rather they are two different names.

Gronkowski traces his roots back to Poland. Born to Gordon and Diane, he has four siblings. Their name basically means “from Gronkow,” which is a village in southern Poland. He grew up in New York, along with his siblings. Four of them made it to the NFL, while the eldest one pursued his career in professional baseball.

“Gronkowski’: the conundrum

Growing up, they struggled to get their names pronounced correctly. “They always said Gran, like Grankowski,” stated Chris, Rob Gronkowski’s elder brother and former NFL player, per the Ringer. “Or else it was ‘Granakowski’, or else it was nothing at all. “Most people wouldn’t even try to pronounce it,” he says. “They’d just give up.” Although entering the NFL, with two elder brothers already in the league, it became easier for Chris and Rob.

“At that point, it was like, ‘Oh, here’s another Gronkowski brother.’ They kind of just assumed we’d be really good at sports,” Chris adds. The elder brother was nicknamed ‘Ski’; meanwhile, Rob came to be known as ‘Gronk’. To the point that he got it trademarked, building an empire off that nickname. We are talking ‘Gronk Fitness.’ With all the siblings achieving success in their professional careers, the Gronkowski family became synonymous with fitness and sports. So much so that Vanity Fair called them America’s first family of jocks.’

Gordon Sr. had a different philosophy. “Everybody thinks we’re dumb jocks, and that’s what I laugh about. Sports teaches you how to be smart and com­petitive, how to lose together and then rebuild and win together,” he said. “Put that together with school and it’s a deadly package.” The Gronkowski family has certainly left an impact, with their name and their play on the field.