Rob Gronkowski has starred in more than his fair share of memes, and he was able to recreate one of them on Saturday.
Gronkowski went viral for a famous photo of his 2006 recruiting visit to Ohio State, where he looked hungover and confused while a stadium usher looked at him in confusion. Gronkowski made an appearance on FOX’s Big Noon pregame show at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, and that allowed him to reunite with his old friend.
The usher, Jeff Svoboda, is now a writer for the Columbus Blue Jackets’ official website. He was at Saturday’s game, however, and was even down to recreate the meme with Gronkowski.
A reunion 19 years in the making.
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) November 1, 2025
(📸: @AdamJardy, @jwinslow7) pic.twitter.com/GPH6tYUBXv
Gronkowski admitted that he and his friends had been “overserved” the night before the original photo was taken, and he was “hurting” when attending the game between Michigan and Ohio State the next day. He then brought in Svoboda, who had the perfect quote about the entire affair.
“You went on to greatness and I became an internet meme,” Svoboda told Gronkowski.
Gronk x @JacketsInsider meet over a meme
— McNeil (@REFLOG18) November 1, 2025
Gronk “Me and my friend were overserved the night before” no way 😂 pic.twitter.com/p0RwGQ7BJg
Gronkowski went on to attend Arizona, though he said it was not because Ohio State made a poor impression.
Credit to both Gronkowski and Svoboda for being a good sport about the whole thing, though that is nothing new for Gronk. 19 years after the original photo was taken, the two pulled it off quite well.
