The Single Best Moment Ever for a South Dakota Athlete

I will always contend that the greatest accomplishment in sports is winning a Super Bowl and when you score the winning points, you make history.

We've had great athletes win Olympic medals, NBA Championships, World Series and more from South Dakota, but the crowning achievement for me is the Super Bowl ring and that is why the single best moment ever for a South Dakota athlete came in the big game.

The Patriots headed into Super Bowl XXXVI as double digit underdogs and after a dominating three quarters from New England, the Rams stormed back in the fourth, but the leg of Adam Vinatieri saved the day.

That kick followed up an amazing kick from Vinatieri in the AFC Championship game where he knocked in the winner in the snow.

The Yankton native and South Dakota State alum would go on to win four total Super Bowls in his Hall of Fame career.

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If Vinatieri doesn't make that kick, who knows what would have happened with the Patriots and Brady from there.

Would they have gone back to Bledsoe? Would they have had all the vets stick around on cheaper deals? Would the Patriot way even exist?

All those questions never had to be answered because a South Dakota dude kicked through the uprights one of the most historic kicks in the history of the National Football League.