Colts' kicker knows his family history

I love it when people are actually knowledgeable about their family history. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I read an article this morning about the Indianapolis Colts' kicker Adam Vinatieri by Dan Brown of the Northwest News.

Brown played a game of "20 questions" with Vinatieri, which included the following genealogy-related Q&A:

4. Does "Vinatieri" have an English translation?

It’s kind of like “wine, or fruit of the Earth” – that’s what was told to me, anyway.

5. Do you even like wine?

Ah, I drink a little bit every once in a while – I wouldn’t say I’m a big connoisseur. I enjoy a glass of it every so often.

6. What do you know about an ancestor of yours and Gen. George Custer?

My great-great grandfather Felix Vinatieri came over on a boat from Italy, entered the country somewhere on the East Coast and joined the military and got stationed at South Dakota as our government was heading west. He hooked on with Custer, who was a big music fan. My grandfather was a composer, and Custer really enjoyed him, so he did some symphony work for him. The band was there not only for marches but for entertainment, as a morale-booster. They knew at Fort Meade that they were going into some hostile areas, so they left the band behind. Thank goodness for my family that they decided that – I think one horse made it back from the Little Big Horn.

Pretty cool, huh? (The other 17 questions were boring football-related stuff.)