Wait a minute.  Custer was killed back in June of 1876.  How could Custer have any bearing whatsoever on modern day Super Bowls?  Read on....

From his days as a general in the Civil War, Custer believed in the power of music.  He had a band that he would bring into battle that would play and encourage the soldiers.  Custer had a brilliant career in the Civil War.  He was instrumental (pardon the pun) in the union victory over the Confederacy.  At the signing of the peace agreement at Appomattox, Major General Phil Sheridan purchased the small writing table on which the agreement was signed.  He presented this to Custer's wife, Libbie, with the following note...

"I respectfully present to you the small writing table on which the conditions for the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia were written by Lt. General Grant -- and permit me to say, Madam, that there is scarcely an individual in our service who has contributed more to bring about this desirable result than your gallant husband."

When Custer was stationed out West after the war, he continued the tradition of having a band accompany the troops.  The 7th Cavalry's song was an Irish tune, "Garry Owen".  The band would accompany Custer and the 7th at their Battle of the Washita, the Black Hills expedition of 1874, and the doomed Little Bighorn campaign.

The band members were spared the fate of Custer and his men as he gave orders to the band leader to remain behind on the supply steamboat, the Far West, which was moored on the Powder River.  This steamboat would be the one that would bring the wounded members of the 7th back to Bismarck and Ft. Abraham Lincoln.  The band members and their leader helped take care of the wounded on the long trip back to the fort.

Custer's band leader was discharged from the Army on December 18, 1876 at Ft, Lincoln, with a notation for good conduct.  After his discharge, he moved his family to Yankton, where he organized the Yankton band and also served as it's director.

OK, OK, what about the Super Bowl?  Well, thanks to Custer's order to have the band stay behind, the band leader wasn't killed on the dusty hills of Montana.  He lived another 15 years, passing away on December 5 (Custer's birthday) in 1891.  He was able to go on living and raising a family.

Custer's band leader was a man by the name of Felix Vinatieri.  Felix's great-great grandson is Adam Vinatieri, kicker for the New England Patriots.  It was Adam's 48 yard field goal as time ran out that gave the New England Patriots the victory in Super Bowl XXXVI.  He kicked another game winner 2 years later in Super Bowl XXXVIII to defeat Carolina.

If you are a New England Patriots fan, you should really whisper a quiet "thank you" to General Custer.