SARASOTA, F.L. (WHDH) A United States Marine Corps veteran received the surprise of a lifetime from Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski and the NFL’s Salute to Service Program — two tickets to Super Bowl LX.
Eddie Pena spent two decades in the Marines before retiring to become the CEO of his own business in Florida. He arrived at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ facility thinking he was going to be speaking to a group of people on behalf of the Marine Corps Association.
“Gronk did this thing where he had the chair turned around like The Voice, and so when i walked into the auditorium and he turned around it hit me right away, like, ‘oh no what’s going on here?’” Pena said.
Meeting the Super Bowl champion was not the only treat for the long-time football fan, Gronkowski presented Pena with two Super Bowl tickets and a trip for two to see the big game in California.
“He [Gronkowski] said to me after, ‘man, you look like you got punched in the stomach.’ It was just overwhelming, it was something I wasn’t expecting at all,” said Pena.
Pena said he initially planned to take a friend, but that friend then suggested he take someone a little closer to home.
“When they said, ‘who are you taking’, I said I’m taking my best friend, a fellow marine. But then when I told my son what happened, that I met Gronk, he got so excited because the era when they were playing here and winning he was in flag football,” Pena explained. “And when I told my best friend that, he was like, ‘dude, you got to take your son.’”
Pena said he’s incredibly grateful for the gift and the opportunity to experience the game with his son. He said the trip is about more than just himself, and he considers it an example of the country paying respect to those who have served.
“America has done a much better job of taking care of our own,” said Pena. “I’m very grateful for the way that they’ve treated us. They’ve been a lot better about taking care of us.”
Pena will also get to spend more time with Gronkowski and other NFL legends before the game in the USAA Salute to Service lounge.
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