With NFL place-kickers like New England’s Adam Vinatieri and Philadelphia’s David Akers making news lately, RedEye asked the Major Indoor Soccer League’s Chicago Storm’s footballers how they felt about the two soccer-style kickers in this Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Ted Chronopoulos, defender: “I actually kicked field goals with Vinatieri back in 2001 at the practice fields at Foxboro when I was with the Revolution and the Pats had finished practice. It was a windy day, and he was blasting them through the uprights from 40 yards, and I was having a hard time, but the best I could do was a 35-yarder.
I thought it would be easy, but we were kicking into the wind, and he was hitting everything, and I was struggling to reach the goal line. Based on that, I would have to go with Vinatieri with the edge over Akers.”
Nino DaSilva, midfielder: “When I was at St. Viator High School during football training camp, I was kicking field goals and making them from 60 yards. It was just during practice, and they wanted me to kick for the team and play soccer too.”
“From my kicking experience, I would have to say that Adam Vinatieri will have a bigger game. … Vinatieri should be one of the highest paid players on the Patriots just because he wins games.”
Andy Rosenband, midfielder: “I once kicked a 40-yard field goal when I was 12 during halftime of my brother’s high school football game, but I figured because of my huge frame (5-foot-7, 150 pounds) I should stick to soccer. My favorite kicker is Martin Gramatica because he always goes crazy when he kicks a field goal just like he would if he scored a goal in soccer. I live vicariously through kickers like Gramatica and Vinatieri because they played soccer and now make a lot of money to kick field goals and play a few minutes a week to become heroes.”
