Headed For The Hall

A few posts back, we mentioned that SDSU alum Adam Vinatieri was closing in on the all-time record for the number of points scored in the National Football League.  This past Sunday, October 28, 2018, he kicked a 25 yard field goal at the end of the second quarter to surpass Morten Andersen's total of 2,544.  He added three extra points in the fourth quarter to give him an even 2,550 points for his career.  How long will that career last?  He is 45 now, and has been in the NFL for 23 years, over half his life, and seems to be getting better with age.  Perhaps that is a reflection on his South Dakota upbringing.  His teammate, quarterback Andrew Luck, seems to sum up Adam's attitude:  "I really don't think we fully appreciate what just happened, or really playing with Vinny.  He doesn't make a big deal out of anything.  He approaches everything with such a professionalism and humility and deflects attention, that I think we get blinded to how great--truly great--he is.  I love playing with him.  He's taught me so much about how to handle yourself and about how to be a pro." 

If you read the caption carefully, you will notice that the picture was taken by Matt Kryger of the Indianapolis Star.  Matt's father Ted was a finance officer for the city of Brookings for a number of years.  Matt, then,  like Adam not only attended SDSU, but was a student of ours, graduating from BHS in 1988.  He became interested in photography when one of his middle school teachers offered a photography class during the noon hour.  After he graduated from college, we ran into each and talked about job prospects.  He noted that it was rather difficult to find employment because he was a white male.  It seemed that in his field, he felt that reverse discrimination was a common practice.  Itwould appear that Matt has distinguished himself in his chosen field. 

A link to Adam's record-breaking achievement can be found at http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25110059/adam-vinatieri-becomes-nfl-all-leading-scorer.  An internet search will yield many more results.  One interesting find was a game in which Herschel Walker was returning a kick-off.  It appeared that Walker was going to return the kick for a touchdown, but Adam chased him down and tackled him (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WooPp3UVCp8 --the comments are especially enlightening).  In his prime, Walker was fast, so Adam showed that his athleticism was not solely confined to his kicking responsibilities.  That South Dakota work ethic paid off then, and it has continued to reap dividends.

Assuming that Adam is elected the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he will join Jim Langer (https://www.profootballhof.com/players/jim-langer/) as the only other alumnus of SDSU to be enshrined in this elite circle. 

Congratulations to Adam Vinatieri, and may he have a few more seasons of greatness so that he may put that scoring record out of reach.