Gronk and Tom Brady Attended the Kentucky Derby and Mayweather-Pacquiao in Vegas: This Day in Sports History

Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski at the Kentucky Derby. | Robin Marchant/Getty Images

Can you believe Mayweather-Pacquaio was five full years ago? Like most things in right now’s not-so-distant past, that seems both too recent and ages ago. How much would you give to watch The Kentucky Derby today and then finish your night off with a prize fight? What if I told you Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski did both in person?

For normal people, you could watch those events on television. Throw in some second-round NBA playoff action and some random regular season baseball games and you just got lightheaded and passed out, didn’t you?

Considering our current situation, look at what Brady and Gronk did back in 2015. There was a huge sporting event where over 170,000 people gathered and ate and drank and gambled and they both went. Then they got on an airplane and traveled to Las Vegas and entered another building with more than 16,000 people in an enclosed space. Then two other men walked through the crowd with almost no one wearing a mask and had a fist fight for more than a half-hour.

And all around the country and world, people gathered together in person to watch. At sports bars. In friends’ homes. They paid money to watch sports on television. With 4.6 million pay-per-view buys , Mayweather-Pacquiao remains the biggest boxing match of all-time. Mayweather made $250 million and Pacquiao took home $150 million. And it was a huge disappointment. The fight was kind of boring. How much would you pay for them to have a rematch tonight? How good does a $99.99 PPV sound right now?

And it’s not just about the sports. It’s about life. Imagine those environments. All those people traveling and spending money and not worrying about anything in the entire world for a few hours. Just look at all the people currently stuck at home right now who came out for Mayweather and Pacquiao. Like Beyonce for example. (Jay Z was also reportedly in attendance.)

Jay Z and Beyonce attended Mayweather – Pacquiao. | Al Bello/Getty Images

Unfortunately, not all the wealthy couples who attended the fight are still together.

Tom Brady and Robert Kraft at Mayweather – Pacquiao. | Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Hopefully, Gronk and his hat are still together.

Gronk at Mayweather – Pacquiao. | Ethan Miller/Getty Images

To go back to the Kentucky Derby real quick, Gronk and Brady were in attendance as American Pharoah won the first leg of his Triple Crown. They were part of a record crowd of 170,513. That was the first time since 1978 that a horse won the Triple Crown. That horse’s name? Affirmed.

And back again to the prize fight, Lil’ Wayne was there with Christina Millian.

Lil Wayne and Christina Milian. | Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Mark Wahlberg was in attendance and was interviewed by Josina Anderson.

Mark Wahlberg talked to Josina Anderson. | Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Denzel Washington was there in a tracksuit and became a meme.

Denzel Washington Ringside At “Mayweather VS Pacquiao.” | Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Tecate was the main sponsor of the fight, beating out Corona in a bidding war. Someone please go back in time and tell those brands where they’ll be five years in the future. Speaking of brands, Mayweather walked out with the Burger King (the only person wearing a mask) and Justin Bieber, who used to be weirdly involved with boxing.

Justin Bieber at the Mayweather – Pacquiao press conference. | ROBYN BECK/Getty Images

And finally, if you want to know how long ago 2015 was, Getty identifies Donald Trump as a “celebrity businessman and media personality.”

Donald Trump and Melania at Mayweather – Pacquiao. | Ethan Miller/Getty Images

That was five years ago. Trump was a celebrity, athletes could travel from city to city and cross paths with tens of thousands of people and everyone else could just watch beautiful stupid sports and not worry about anything because tomorrow is just Sunday. Nothing more, nothing less. This day in sports history? Sports took place.