Rob Gronkowski Missed ‘Kick of Destiny’ (Again) and Fans Had Jokes

Rob Gronkowski tried to recreate the “Kick of Destiny” on Sunday prior to the Super Bowl, a promotion for the sports book FanDuel in which he attempts a one-time field goal.

Last year’s edition of the promotion did not go well, as Gronkowski aired it wide left.

This year’s version didn’t either, in the other direction.

Gronkowski wasn’t particularly close, airing it far to the right. He knew it immediately too, doubling over and holding his helmet in his hands. For all of his success—the former Patriot and Buccaneer won four Super Bowls and piled up 92 touchdowns during a high-profile career—that talent hasn’t translated into kicking.

Fans on social media were less than impressed by Gronkowski and the promotion as a whole.

“All that hype for 2 seconds of this?” user @Noo0ah wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“I have the same conversion rate on dating apps that Gronk does at kicking field goals,” user Adamkblat added.

“I just smashed my TV in front of 30 guests at my party because of this,” a user wrote in a satirical post on Reddit. “My wife just took our crying kids and said they’re all spending the week at a hotel. This missed kick has ruined my life and my party. I can’t handle this anymore. Goodbye NFL. I am no longer a fan.”

Others noted that anyone betting on Gronkowski might need assistance.

“If you placed a bet on this, call the number,” user alexkitcoff posted.

A number of users made a joke about the Buffalo Bills, who have now had two iconically painful field goals go wide right. Gronkowski was born in Amherst, NY—a town 15 minutes from Buffalo.

“Here’s the evidence that@RobGronkowski is really from Buffalo,” user @So_lets_kiLab70 wrote.

The ads for the “Kick of Destiny” included actor Carl Weathers, who is best known for his role as Apollo Creed in “Rocky.” Weathers—who played a motorcycle-riding coach and told Gronkowski, “This time you won’t miss” in promos for the kick—died earlier this month.

Andrew Sneyd, FanDuel’s executive vice president of marketing, told Variety that edits were made after Weathers’ death.

“We had built a master,” Sneyd told Variety. “One is an edit if he makes the kick and we have an edit if he misses. That content we had in those masters wouldn’t be appropriate for us to do any more. Since the news of Carl’s passing came, we have been working with editors to help us get back to something that does make sense.”

In the edited version, which aired during the first half of Sunday’s game, Weathers is watching on an old TV.

“You gave it your all, Gronk,” Weathers said in the ad.

Sneyd told Variety that the company was “viewing edits through tears,” and that they “really enjoyed the short time we had to work with Weathers.”