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Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972 in
Yankton, South Dakota) is an American football
player who currently serves as the placekicker for
the National Football League's New England
Patriots.

He is the second of four children.  He has two
familiar family ties.  His great-great grandfather
is Felix Vinatieri, who served as General George
Armstrong Custer's bandmaster.  He is also a third
cousin to the famous daredevil, Evel Knievel. 
Adam attended Rapid City, South Dakota's Central
High School, where he was a letterman in football,
track, wrestling, and soccer.

He was a four-year letterman at South Dakota State
University as a placekicker and punter.  He
finished up his college years of football as the
school's all-time scoring leader with 185 career
points scored. (His younger brother Beau was a
place kicker at Black Hills State University
before graduating in 2003.)

==Life after college==

He spent the fall of 1995 training to compete
professionally.  He received a tryout for the
World League of American Football, now known as
NFL Europe, and earned a roster position with the
Amsterdam Admirals as a placekicker and punter.

==New England Patriots==

In 1996 he was signed by the Patriots as an
undrafted free agent to be a place kicker.  He
sports the number 4 and has been with the Patriots
for his entire career, during which he has played
in four Super Bowls, out of which they lost one
and won three. 

In the 2001 playoffs, during a blizzard against
the Oakland Raiders at Foxboro, Vinatieri kicked a
45-yard field goal to tie the game 13-13 and send
it into overtime. The Patriots then won the game
on another field goal of 23 yards by Vinatieri.
That 45-yard kick in driving snow is regarded as
one of the greatest clutch plays in NFL history
(and is one of the reasons that game is now called
the Snow Bowl). In Super Bowl XXXVI he kicked a
field goal on the final play to give the New
England Patriots a 20-17 win over the St. Louis
Rams.  Two years later, and in an almost identical
situation, he kicked a field goal with 4 seconds
left in Super Bowl XXXVIII to boost the Patriots
to another championship (after missing one field
goal and having another attempt blocked in the
first half).  This time, the Patriots defeated the
Carolina Panthers, 32-29, making Vinatieri the
first player ever to be the deciding factor in two
Super Bowl games, and arguably the greatest clutch
kicker of all time.

Vinatieri led the NFL in scoring in 2004 with 141
points (31-for-33 on field goals, and a perfect
48-for-48 on points after touchdown or PATs). His
best game of the season came against the St. Louis
Rams, against whom he scored 16 points (4 field
goals, 4 PATs), and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass
to wide receiver Troy Brown on a fake field goal
attempt (that pass gives him a career passer
rating of 122.9).  

Since he has been with the Patriots he has been
very active in his home town and state which
includes helping Christian athletes, D.A.R.E., and
the Governor's Highway Safety Bureau.  He also is
a spokesperson for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Rhode Island's teen anti-smoking contest. His
hobbies include hunting, riding motorcycles and
golfing. He is marriage|married, and has several
children.

== Honors and awards ==
*2002 Pro Bowl
*2005 Pro Bowl

==External links==
*http://www.patriots.com New England Patriots
official website