It was almost like a Patriots home game Sunday morning.

An estimated 35,000 fans attended the Patriots' Super Bowl LIII send off rally inside Gillette Stadium. In recent years, the rally was held outside the stadium and on a Monday, so this was the largest crowd in quite some time.

Robert and Jonathan Kraft spoke first and addressed buying the team 25 years ago and what the fans have meant to them, as well as the success of the team, as this is its 10th Super Bowl appearance.

Finally, Bill Belichick and the team captains spoke and here's what they had to say.

Bill Belichick: “Thanks for coming out today. This is an awesome crowd. Just tremendous. This is the biggest send off we’ve ever had. We really appreciate everyone coming out. Appreciate your support all year. We hope to see you in Atlanta. You’re going to hear from the players. This is a great group of captains. They have given us tremendous leadership all year on and off he field. They’ve played their best football in the most important games and we have the biggest game coming up. We’re looking forward to it. See you in Atlanta. Thank you. Thanks a lot.”

David Andrews: “It is unreal getting the chance to go home to play in front of a lot of my friends and family. I can’t wait to see you all down there and take over Atlanta to show them what a real fan base is down there. Appreciate all your support. It wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t have you all backing us each week. We appreciate it.”

Matthew Slater: “We just wanted to thank you guys for your support all year long. You’re a big part of what we are and it is such an honor to represent the New England region. Tenth Super Bowl. What a blessing. What a great organization we have. Great team. Great coaches. Great brotherhood. It is truly just a blessing to be part of this. But, come Sunday -- I grew up a Rams fan, but come Sunday I don’t know nothing about no Rams. Let’s go Pats.”

Patrick Chung: “What’s up? Aw, hell no — what’s up? Double attendance today. Double attendance — 20,000. 20,000 to show love. We love you. I appreciate the support. We’re going to go [down] there and kick their ass, baby.”

James White: “We have a great group of guys. We’re all pretty quiet. We work hard. Rex [Burkhead], Sony [Michel], they have battled through injuries and came up big for us this year. Last week, Sony and Rex had big games for us and we’ll need an even bigger one next Sunday. The running game, the offensive line has done a great job for us, so it’s been a big plus for us.”

Devin McCourty: “This has been a great year, obviously with [Jason] being here. Obviously, you have seen he’s a real rookie to this stuff. We had to leave him inside, he’s a little too excited. This is a special year. My mom is excited. She has a split jersey ready to go down to Atlanta. I just want to make sure you guys understand, we’re still here, right? Are we still here? Let me here you say, ‘We’re still here.’”

Tom Brady: “This is the place to be. This feels like a home game. I know you guys are going to come out and enjoy next Sunday. You know we always play so well at home. We have to bring this to Atlanta with us.”

Brady: “I have been so blessed, obviously being here for as long as I have. I have played with so many great teammates and coaches to represent this team and organization. Obviously, to represent you guys is what it is all about. I can’t thank you enough. We’re excited. I hope you guys are excited. As Dev said, let’s let them here it all the way down in Atlanta, ‘We’re still here. We’re still here…”

The team will now depart for Atlanta and Super Bowl LIII a week from Sunday.