Bucs' Have Another Link To New England Beyond Brady, Gronk

New England Patriots fans will have a strong interest in this year's Super Bowl even in their team's absence.

Pats legends Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski will appear in their first Super Bowl as members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, having spent the entirety of their NFL careers in New England prior to the 2020 season.

But the link to New England doesn't end with them.

Marshfield, Massachusetts native Zach Triner will have the chance to win a Super Bowl alongside his childhood hero, Brady, on Sunday (February 7.)

The 28-year-old is living a real-life Hollywood story, having gone from selling mutual funds at Fidelity to likely appearing in a Super Bowl during his first NFL season as a long snapper for the Bucs.

“The other day he said ‘Who am I? This is unbelievable’,” Stephen Gangi, Zach’s stepfather told CBS Boston.

Like Brady and Gronkowski, Triner joined the Buccaneers this past offseason.

“He was like ‘Can you believe this? I’m gonna be playing with Tom.’ I’m like ‘No!” Gangi told CBS Boston.

In March, Triner told CBS Boston that he planned to tell Brady, "I'm from Massachusetts, obviously watching you my whole life" prior to their first meeting. But the 28-year-old is now apparently viewing his childhood hero as more of a teammate.

“He just said he’s a real person he treats everybody the same he’s very engaging he talks to every teammate. He’s just a really a good teammate,” Gangi told CBS Boston.

Triner's parents said they will be attending Sunday's game with his youth football coach. The Marshfield native recently became a new father and plans to return to his hometown after the Super Bowl.

Brady and Gronkowski both joined the Buccaneers this past offseason after spending nine years as teammates in New England. The duo is 3-2 in five previous Super Bowl appearances together, while Brady has a record of 6-3 during his first 20 seasons.

Patriots captains and former teammates Devin McCourty and Matthew Slater, both told CBS Boston they'd be cheering for Brady and Gronkowski in Super Bowl LV, which will be held at the Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers.

“I’m rooting for [Brady] and Tampa to get the championship,” McCourty said. “It’s crazy never in NFL history has a team hosted the Super Bowl and played in it. And this guy goes to Tampa for one year and breaking a record. I think it’s going to be a great game. It will fun to watch as a fan.”

Many Pats fans appear to be sharing those sentiments. Fanatics.com reports Boston was among the top-5 markets purchasing Brady's Bucs jersey, which is currently the No. 1 seller in the NFL and all-time best-selling jersey for the span between Conference Championship weekend and the Super Bowl, CBS Miami reports.

Flight searches from Boston to Tampa reportedly spiked by 360% in the days following Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Super Bowl LV berth, according to the travel app Hopper via WHDH.

Photo: Getty Images