"Blue, the training room," Gay's former teammates yelled at him, jokingly referencing a couple of his injury-plagued seasons in New England. It's a pretty harsh joke, all things considered, but it was one the lighthearted player took in stride.
"Yeah, they were killing me," Gay said. "It's fun to be back with the guys. It was all in fun, because when you line up against me, I'm going to tell them something, too. At one time, they were my family, just like the Saints are my family now."
It's just one part of the fun the two teams had during their two days of joint practices. With so much respect between the clubs, the Patriots and Saints really seemed to enjoy their time together. Really adding to that was the return of Gay, fullback Heath Evans and tight end David Thomas, who all spent several years in Foxboro.
"I really don't think I'm an emotional guy," said Evans, who was wildly popular in the locker room from from 2005-08. "But you walk out, and you take this hike and you see the fan appreciation here, even just the style of practice, I miss my time here. It was a special time here."
Thomas, who was a third-round pick in 2006 and spent three seasons with the Patriots, shared a handshake and a brief conversation with head coach Bill Belichick midway through Tuesday morning's practice. Belichick congratulated Thomas on his Super Bowl victory and wished him well throughout the rest of his career.
"I've got a lot of respect for the guys out here," said Thomas, who got a chance to meet up with some friends for dinner Monday night. "I really enjoyed my time in New England and have a lot of really good friends that still play here, so it's good to catch up with them.
"[Belichick] was just really nice, and it's good to catch up with him a little bit," he added. "Some things never change. He still runs a good program. It's been a lot of fun going against him."
Aside from adjusting to life in the less-luxurious visitors' locker room, the former Patriots have enjoyed their trip down memory lane at Gillette Stadium. They've walked through the hallways, gotten a kick out of the laborious trek up the stairs to get to the practice fields and served as pseudo-tour guides for their teammates.
Facing training-camp circumstances, the Saints haven’t had a ton of time to get around the area, but the former New England trio has taken advantage of the opportunities it's had. The three have spent time in the area reserved for Patriots families, catching up with old friends and the like.
Thursday night's preseason game will mark the end of the reunion, but for those involved, it's been a fun week back in New England.
"It did bring a lot of memories back," said Gay, who was in New England from 2004-07. "It brings back good memories. This was a place where basically I made my name a football player, with the Patriots, and I thank them for giving me the opportunity to be in the NFL right now and provide for my family and let me go to New Orleans where I was able to win another championship. I have great memories here."
