FOXBORO, MA - JANUARY 19: Field kicker Adam Vinatieri (L) of the New England Patriots celebrates after making a field goal in overtime against the Oakland Raiders in their AFC playoff game for a 16-13 win 19 January 2002 at Foxboro Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images) Getty
3 Feb 2002: Adam Vinatieri of the New England Patriots celebrates winning Super Bowl XXXVI 20-17 against the St. Louis Rams at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images Getty
Adam Vinatieri made a career out of converting kicks few others would want.
More than two decades after one of those kicks helped launch the New England Patriots dynasty, he found another improbable setting to add to his belt.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer established a Guinness World Records title on Sept. 22 by making a field goal at Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe in the Swiss Alps, 3,454 meters, or 11,332 feet, above sea level. Guinness certified the attempt as the highest field goal in the world, according to the Patriots.
The event served as the kickoff to New England 's countdown to its Nov. 15 game against the Detroit Lions at Allianz Arena in Munich. It also brought Vinatieri back to familiar territory: snow, difficult conditions and a football waiting to be kicked through the uprights.
"Snow is simply part of my time with the Patriots," Vinatieri said in the team's release.
The altitude presented a different challenge. Vinatieri said he could feel it in his breathing, heart rate and rhythm before converting the record-setting attempt.
GettyFOXBORO, MA – JANUARY 19: Field kicker Adam Vinatieri (L) of the New England Patriots celebrates after making a field goal in overtime against the Oakland Raiders in their AFC playoff game for a 16-13 win 19 January 2002 at Foxboro Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
On Jan. 19, 2002, New England's season came down to Vinatieri's right leg.
The Patriots trailed the Raiders 13-10 late in the fourth quarter of their divisional-round playoff game at Foxboro Stadium. After Tom Brady 's apparent fumble was overturned, New England moved into position for a 45-yard attempt with snow pouring down and the field buried beneath it.
Vinatieri connected.
He later called it the toughest kick of his career, and the Patriots have described it as one of the most difficult field goals in NFL history. The make tied the game, and Vinatieri followed it with a 23-yard field goal in overtime to send New England to the AFC Championship Game.
There's a straight line from those kicks to everything that followed.
The Patriots beat Pittsburgh the next week and reached Super Bowl XXXVI. Against the Rams , Brady moved New England into range in the final seconds. And Vinatieri drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give the franchise its first Super Bowl championship.
The Patriots would win three titles in four seasons and eventually six during the Brady era. That first run, however, was 45 yards away from ending in the snow before anyone knew a dynasty was beginning.
Getty3 Feb 2002: Adam Vinatieri of the New England Patriots celebrates winning Super Bowl XXXVI 20-17 against the St. Louis Rams at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Vinatieri's latest record surfaces during a year filled with recognition.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August as part of the Class of 2026. He finishing his 24-year NFL career as the league's all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points and its record holder with 599 field goals.
The Patriots will honor him again Oct. 11 when they host the Las Vegas Raiders . Vinatieri is scheduled to receive his Pro Football Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence during a halftime ceremony as the franchise also commemorates the 25th anniversary of its first Super Bowl team.
The occasion makes the Guinness achievement feel fitting.
Vinatieri once stood in a Foxborough snowstorm with New England's season hanging on his kick. Nearly 25 years later, he stood high in the Swiss Alps, surrounded by snow again.
One kick entered the record book.
The other helped start a dynasty.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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