Terry Bradshaw’s arm isn’t what it used to be.
(In his defense, throwing a fish is a lot different than throwing a football.)
With the Fox NFL Sunday broadcast crew in Seattle ahead of the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, January 25, Bradshaw and fellow analyst Rob Gronkowski visited the famous Pike Place Market and participated in the iconic fish-tossing tradition.
Gronkowski, 36, stood behind the service counter while Bradshaw, 77, attempted to throw him a fish from the main concourse of the market. Unfortunately for both former professional football players, the fish didn’t quite make it the whole way and bounced off the front of the counter.
Bradshaw — an NFL Hall of Famer who spent 14 seasons as quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1970-1983 — was all smiles after the misstep as the crowd berated the three-time Super Bowl champion.
After the first attempt didn’t go as planned, a fan in attendance stepped up and, naturally, had to show off his Tom Brady New England Patriots jersey.
Gronkowski was one of Brady’s favorite targets during his playing days and the two won four Super Bowls together.
“One for Gronk!” yelled the fan before tossing the fish.
The fan’s throw was perfect, and Gronkowski made the catch look easy, holding up the fish triumphantly like a slimy Lombardi trophy afterwards.
“Brady to Gronk once again,” Gronkowski said while posing for a photo with the fan while holding the fish.
As the shenanigans at the market wrap up, Gronkowski and Bradshaw prepare to host the Fox Sports pregame show before the NFC Championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams kicks off.
The matchup will be the third meeting between the two division rivals this season — this time with a chance to play in Super Bowl LX on the line.
The first two meetings came down to the wire, and the teams split the regular season matchups. The Rams won round 1 in November, 21-19, and Seattle took round 2, 38-37, in overtime in December.
“It’s no different, that’s the theme of the week,” Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold told the media of the championship matchup on Friday, January 23. “Obviously it’s a big game. We understand the implications, but we have our process and we do everything the same as we have throughout the season.”
He continued, “I don’t know how you top last week, but I’m sure the 12’s (Seahawks fans) will. They always bring it for us, so we’re excited for them. … The 12’s are really smart football fans. They understand when to be quiet and when to be really loud. Our fans do a really good job of when to actually make noise and when not to.”
Darnold was dealing with some injuries ahead of the game, but was cleared to play Sunday.
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald also touched on the playoff atmosphere at the stadium ahead of the playoff matchup.
“This place is going to be rocking,” Macdonald said on Friday. “It’s going to be electric. 12’s are going to be on their stuff. It’s going to be awesome. Last week was incredible, so I imagine it’s going to be kicked up a notch, I don’t know how that’s possible. This is why we do what we do. For weeks like this, for our community, for our city, for the 12’s, for our guys. To have this opportunity, it doesn’t get any better than this.”
