If there were a test that must be passed to become an official Patriots fan, it would have to include a word-for-word recitation of Gil Santos’s perfect call of Adam Vinatieri’s winning field goal in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Start with Santos’s stage-setting words: “For Adam Vinatieri, a 48-yard field goal attempt …’’ Then go straight through his jubilant and slightly incredulous conclusion. “THE PATRIOTS ARE SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS!’’
It would not even be a difficult question. It is one of the best and most satisfying big-moment calls in the history of Boston sports, if not all of professional sports.