Gronk on a plane!

Thoughts of football, and the New England Patriots, were far from my mind on Sunday morning. We were far away from Foxborough, settling into our seats on American Airlines Flight 1509 from Miami.Then, the guy across the aisle noted a passenger sitting in the section ahead of us, and said: “That?s Tom Brady?s best friend.”It isn?t every day you get to fly with Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, but the fellow across the way assured my girlfriend Laura and me that it was indeed Number 87, adding that the big guy had to duck to make it on board.We, and another man sitting nearby, talked about Gronk?s career. Pretty soon, our friend across the aisle was showing us clips of Gronkowski in action on his cell phone, including Gronk busting tackles up the right side for a big gain.It seems Gronkowski liked visiting Miami. His Twitter account shows photos of him posing with members of the Miami-Dade Police Department, including a “tour of a lifetime” from the Homicide Division.The flight left at 7:10 a.m. Laura and I were coming off a 9-plus-hour trip from Buenos Aires, where we had gone on vacation; Miami was our connecting flight. Gronkowski was going to the Paint Nite contest in Boston Sunday afternoon, to create a painting for a silent auction to benefit the National Brain Tumor Foundation.When we touched down at Logan Airport, around 10:20 a.m., Gronkowski left through a different exit than we did. While we wanted to head home after our long, exhausting return from Argentina, we lingered at the gate to see if we could spot him.A few moments later, it wasn?t too hard to miss the 6-6 giant in the hoodie (a Bill Belichick fashion influence?). We followed at a respectful distance down the corridor.Several other folks caught up to him, as he posed for a group photo. Before he dashed off, he paused for an autograph session, and kindly posed for one more photo, with me.Here was the guy who set the NFL record for touchdowns in a season by a tight end in 2011 … the guy who nearly caught Brady?s Hail Mary against the Giants in the Super Bowl … the guy who was mugged by the Panthers? Luke Kuechly in the end zone last year. Seeing how tall he is, you wonder how anyone could bring him down!Last season, Gronkowski played in just seven games before getting injured again in Week 14, and missed the AFC Championship Game, where the Pats lost to the Broncos. For those curious about his health, it seemed like he was moving fine on Sunday after some R&R on the flight back from Miami.