There has been a lot of cross pollination between the Patriots and Colts over the last few years, but Thursday proved to be a homecoming for kicker Adam Vinatieri.

The Patriots legend spent a decade in Foxboro and helped the franchise hoist three Lombardi Trophies in the early dynasty years. In fact, two titles came directly from Vinatieri's foot and the kicker has made countless other clutch field goals throughout his career. Vinatieri left the franchise back in 2005 and inked a deal with the Colts where he's been for the last 13 years. Upon coming back to town on Thursday, Vinatieri admitted that Gillette Stadium and the Patriots organization will always have a place in his heart.

“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 [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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As Vinatieri watched his Colts team fall to the Patriots, he's now found himself in a tie with Tom Brady for the most wins all-time. While speaking to the media after New England's win, Bill Belichick noted just how much both of them have meant to the franchise.

"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. [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."