How Did Rob Gronkowski Get To Host the 2023 LA Bowl?

The college football bowl season has officially begun and Rob Gronkowski is already stealing headlines in his first bowl game as the host. With Jimmy Kimmel stepping out of his spot, the former NFL legend makes an impeccable replacement according to many. After signing a multiyear agreement to be the new face of the LA Bowl after Jimmy Kimmel’s exit, Gronk is making sure he’s hyping everyone present at the bowl game. By the looks of it, Gronkowski is all set to make a memorable season as a first-time host. And why not? After all, it’s not easy to fill Jimmy Kimmel’s shoes.

Post the late-night talk show host’s exit. Gronk was recently seen taking up his new duty. However, what makes fans curious is how the former NFL Legend got his hands on the position. Well, the man of the hour himself divulged how he bagged the spot as the event’s new host! See what Gronk has to say about his decision to be the LA Bowl host.

Rob Gronkowski reveals why he agreed to host the LA Bowl

Gronk revealed how his hosting duties came to him as straightforward as it could be. While acknowledging his predecessor, the retired player explained that the organizers called him after Kimmel’s contract expiry and asked if he wanted to host the Bowl game. And for the former New England Patriots player, his decision was already made.

Talking about one of the main reasons why he accepted the role as the new LA Bowl Host, he revealed, “My last college football game at the University of Arizona that I played at was this bowl game… That’s the full circle and that is the trigger that pulled me to host this game.” That’s definitely a full circle moment!

Even though hosting had never crossed his mind before this opportunity came knocking, Gronkowski still exuded a lot of confidence in what he revealed makes him a good fit for the role. “I love to run around, I was a football player, played in the NFL for 11 years,” he said. Elaborating further, he also revealed how deciding to be a host was not a tough decision. 

“I would have never thought in a million years that I would now be hosting this bowl game,” Gronkowski said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “It’s unbelievable and it’s — I can’t even say a dream come true because it wasn’t a dream at the time. I never even thought about it. It’s an opportunity that is mind blowing that I could not pass on. … It was a no-brainer because I played in this bowl game as well,” he added.

However, Gronk isn’t the only one who’s confident of his abilities!

Organizers revealed how choosing Gronk was a no-brainer

It seems the beloved Gronk was always the first choice for the organizers. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Chris Sloan, the head of global partnership for SoFi Stadium revealed choosing the retired player  was a “no-brainer”.

“We made a two-year deal with Jimmy and he was great, and it was how do we keep the momentum going from that? How do we stick out as the LA Bowl?” Sloan said, adding. “And really we looked across a wide array of opportunities to make that happen and as we kind of got down to it, Gronk just made a ton of sense.”

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Gronk’s affinity to the LA Bowl is apparent as he was once a competitor at the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl with his brother Chris Gronkowski where the Pac-12 champion met the Mountain West’s champ. Arizona’s 28-18 victory over BYU ended a 10-year bowl drought for the school. So, it’s definitely special for him to come back and Gronk is making sure he exceeds expectations by giving it his all. 

“There’ll be dancing, there’ll be competitions with the fans, we’ll be creating food and beverage ideas, I’m gonna challenge the mascots to a dance-off as well and also there’s going to be a live performance by me — it may be at the beginning of the game, it may be at halftime, but I’m gonna be doing a live performance myself as well,” Gronkowski said to the LA Times

Rob Gronkowski isn’t your typical host and his energy at the LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles is infectious. He’ll continue to hype the crowd with his jolly spirit and love for fun. Boise State and UCLA are lucky to be the first teams to be hosted by the NFL legend. 

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