A season or so ago, Rob Gronkowski, the New England Patriots tight end, and Rob Gronkowski, the bottle of Axe Body Spray in human form, crossed trajectories, with football Gronk descending and party Gronk ascending. You’ll never be free of Gronk the Party Beast; he’ll be cameo’ing on TV shows and starring in reality series from now until the heat death of the universe.
But in his day, football Gronk was as fearsome a beast as has ever donned a helmet, and on Sunday against New Orleans, football Gronk once again elbowed his way to the front of the national consciousness.