Antoine Winfield Jr. on taunting Tyreek Hill: 'It felt amazing'
Arguably the most memorable moment of the Super Bowl for Minnesotans was a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on former Gophers All-American safety Antoine Winfield Jr.
Deep in the fourth of Tampa Bay's blowout win over the Chiefs, Winfield helped break up a pass intended for star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, then crouched down close to Hill and gave him an emphatic peace sign.
Why did he taunt Hill? It was sweet revenge after Hill gave Winfield the peace sign earlier in the season while sprinting to the end zone and back-flipping for a touchdown.
"The taunting, it was something I had to do. When we played them earlier Hill went off on us. He back-flipped in front of my face and gave me the peace sign. So it was only right I gave him the peace sign right back to him. It felt amazing to be able to do that," Winfield said.
Winfield has a major impact on the game, helping shut down what had been the NFL's most explosive offense for two years running. The rookie had an interception and then celebrated in the end zone with teammates with their version of "Row the Boat" – the identity created by Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck.
"Row the boat baby. RTB. That's our little celebration that we down here. It was amazing to be able to actually row the boat down here after that interception. That was real cool. Shout out to everybody up in Minnesota."