A traditional New England Patriots training camp welcomed back by football fans this summer

FOXBOROUGH — The whistles were loud. The sun was hot. Fans turned the programs in their hands into, well, fans.

Those were a few signals that New England Patriots training camp was back at Gillette Stadium the past two weeks.

Football practices were open to the public last season, but this year there was a renewed sense of excitement in Foxborough for the 63rd annual Patriots training camp – a thrill that hadn’t been felt since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I don’t think you really appreciate some things until they’re gone,” said Stacey James, vice president of communications for the New England Patriots. “We had to change the way it’s historically been done.”

Preseason practices have been an annual – and free – tradition for many New Englanders to see their favorite players before the season rolls around in September.

Last summer marked the first time since 2019 when fans could attend training camp. In what seems like a lifetime ago, Patriots Nation watched the quarterback competition between former MVP Cam Newton and then-rookie Mac Jones.

Even though a QB contest was an intriguing foreign language to Pats fans last year, things still didn’t feel the same. Restrictions around COVID-19 prohibited players from interacting with fans. That meant no autographs, no pictures and fewer memories to take home.

“Last year’s training camp was a bit underwhelming compared to past years,” said Matthew Cacciapaglia of Franklin.

Cacciapaglia, 17, attended Patriots training camp each of the past three times it’s been held.

“There weren’t as many fans in attendance and I missed the fan-player interactions,” he said of 2021.

Since then all of the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, which has brought back a sense of normalcy.

“It’s so fun to have camp back and have players interacting with the fans,” James said. “… I think we just redefined what normal is going forward; I don’t think it will be the same as it once was. It certainly beats those months that we were locked indoors.”

Despite the hot temperatures in Foxborough the past few weeks, fans welcomed withstanding the mid-summer heat in order to interact with players again.

“It’s so awesome to be able to bring (my son) here and see the smile on his face from meeting the guys he sees on TV,” said Franklin resident Laurie Craig.

Her five-year old son, Cameron, had a football signed by Patriots punter Jake Bailey on Tuesday (the same day Bailey inked a four-year, $13.5 million contract extension).

Notable players to sign autographs for fans included Devin McCourty, Jakobi Meyers and Matt Judon. The latter celebrated the lifted restrictions by routinely picking up the nearest football and playing catch with the early-birds who waited at the start of practice.

“If you get to training camp early enough for a front row spot, there is a very good chance you will get to interact with some players close up,” said Connor Murphy, a 2021 Hopkinton High grad. “Whether it’s signing autographs, throwing around the football or giving high-fives, the Pats players always give back to the community.”

Regardless of how the upcoming season goes for the Patriots, fans of the team were excited to see the traditional atmosphere of training camp back in full swing: autographs, pictures and all.

“Seeing the players interact with fans makes me think of them as more down-to-earth than I previously did,” Cacciapaglia said. “It makes me think of them more as a person than just an athlete.”

The Patriots finished up training camp on Thursday. Pats fans can see their team next when they host joint practices with the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 16 and Aug. 17.

This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: New England Patriots fans welcome back a normal training camp