FOXBORO, Mass — It’s been well over a decade since Adam Vinatieri last played at Gillette Stadium as a member of the Patriots, but the response when he’s in New England nowadays almost always is positive.
The 45-year-old Colts kicker played 10 seasons for the Patriots before heading to Indianapolis ahead of the 2006 season. During Vinatieri’s time in New England, he was responsible for many pivotal kicks, including the memorable “Snow Bowl” hit that Pats head coach Bill Belichick still gushes over.
So even though it’s been quite some time since Vinatieri called New England home, that didn’t stop fans from giving him an ovation as he walked off the Gillette Stadium playing surface and down the tunnel after the Pats’ 38-24 Week 5 win over Indy.
Moments later, Vinatieri expressed appreciation for the reaction from the opposing fans.
“This is a special place and it always will be,” Vinatieri said. “It’s a special place and it’s got a lot of nostalgia for me, obviously. It’s a fun place to play. The fans are wild and crazy and it’s a hard place to win if you’re an opposing team. We just didn’t play well enough obviously. Walking off the field it was kind of a neat feeling. It was pretty cool, it really was, and I appreciate that. A lot of fans were pointing up at the banners and stuff like that. It was pretty cool.
“It will always hold a special place in my heart for the 10 years I spent here with such a great team and organization and great fans,” Vinatieri continued. “It was neat. I only heard one person say, ‘You suck,’ then another guy said, ‘No you don’t Vini, we love you!’ In years past they were more brutal on me, but lately, they’re just nice to me so it’s good stuff.”
On a night where Tom Brady made some history, having Vinatieri in the building was somewhat poetic. After the game, Belichick was asked about the impact both Brady and Vinatieri have made on the organization, and the Pats head coach — who never misses an opportunity to give a thorough answer on opposing squad’s special teams or Vinatieri — had plenty to offer.
“There’s a lot of people who have meant a lot to this organization, but certainly nobody more than Tom Brady,” Belichick said. “Adam — the time he was here was fabulous. He made some of the biggest kicks in the history of the game. Certainly one of the toughest, but he made a lot of them.
“We wouldn’t have won a lot of the games that we won without great players like that or some of the other guys that have been out here the last couple of weeks,” Belichick added. “(Matt) Light, (Willie) McGinest, Ty Law, so forth. We’ve had a lot of the great players back here the last couple of weeks so it’s great to see that. But yeah, Vinatieri, I can’t imagine a kicker more deserving of whatever the highest accolade you could get than him and the same is true for Tom. His records are incredible.”
Fanfare aside, Vinatieri went 1-for-2 Thursday night, missing a 38-yarder before later drilling a 54-yard attempt.
Time will tell if Thursday proved to be Vinatieri’s Foxboro swan song, but it very well could have been. And if that is the case, it’s quite likely Patriots fans down the road will welcome him back as a spectator with open arms.
