Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri is 45 years old and who knows how many years are left for the future Hall of Famer. Vinatieri spent the first ten years of his career with the New England Patriots and knowing this could be his last game at Gillette Stadium, he really tried to soak in the moments and enjoy it.

After the game Vinatieri talked about how special of a place it was for him, and how much the fans meant to him and still mean to him, even being on the Colts.

“This is a special place and it always will be,” Vinatieri said via WEEI. “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 [the ovation he received walking off the field], it really was, and I appreciate that. A lot of the 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.

“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.”

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Vinatieri left the Patriots in free agency and there was a lot of mean comments from Patriots fans about the decisions soon after it happened.

Over time both sides have seemed to soften up and have more of an appreciation of each other, especially the fans of the Patriots who realize just how special Vinatieri was during his time with the team, and what he has been able to accomplish since he left.