Twenty years after Steve Gleason blocked a Monday night punt to spark the New Orleans Saints’ emotional return to the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina, the former safety is returning to the stadium amid his 15-year battle with ALS.
Steve Gleason’s Blocked Punt Defined the Saints’ Superdome Return
The gates to Caesars Superdome opened at 1:26 p.m. local time on Sept. 27 before the New Orleans Saints’ hosted the Las Vegas Raiders, as USA Today reported. Fans walked toward the glass doors, but a group of young men sprinted toward the Rebirth
statue on the southeast side of the venue. The monument captures Steve Gleason blocking Atlanta Falcons punter Michael Koenen during a Monday Night Football matchup on Sept. 25, 2006—the Saints’ first game back in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina threatened the very existence of the franchise in the city.
The play happened just 90 seconds into the contest. The score set the tone for a dominant 23-3 victory over the Falcons.
“I vividly remember looking across the field and seeing the Falcons, and looking up at the crowd in the dome and thinking it was impossible for us to lose tonight.”
The 20th Anniversary Domecoming Celebration Against the Falcons
The franchise marked the milestone anniversary during a Monday night game against the Atlanta Falcons at Caesars Superdome. Gleason led a second line through downtown New Orleans ahead of the celebration, accompanied by New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno. The event also featured appearances on the ManningCast by Sean Payton and Gleason during the broadcast.
Justin Reid, a Louisiana native who was nine years old at the time and living two hours north, recalled feeling a change in momentum that provided a beacon of hope and patriotism. The evening included a pregame concert featuring U2 and Green Day, alongside a coin toss handled by former president George H.W. Bush in front of football dignitaries including former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and his successor, Roger Goodell.
Steve Gleason Reflects on His 15-Year ALS Fight and Team Gleason
Five years after his iconic play, Gleason was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, in 2011. While the average life expectancy after diagnosis is three to five years, Gleason is among the 10% to 20% of individuals who survive for a decade or more.
Now 49, Gleason communicates using eye-tracking tablet technology and lives on a ventilator, using eye tape decorated by his children to keep his eyebrows in position for tablet use. He reflected on his journey in an interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, noting that he cannot move, talk, or breathe on his own.
Speaking with Robin Roberts, Steve Gleason noted that he is still here, adding that while this still surprises some people, it does not surprise him as much as it used to.
“I live on a ventilator. I live knowing this breath is given to me by a machine, and this sentence is built letter by letter, and this moment with those I love is the whole point.”
Gleason founded Team Gleason, a charity that has raised over $65 million to support people living with ALS through equipment, technology, and empowerment. He earned a Congressional Gold Medal in 2019 for his activism. Through his advocacy, Gleason found community with other football players battling the disease, including Chris Johnson, Tim Shaw, O.J. Brigance, Eric Stevens, and Steve Smith.
“If I do not block that punt, I am another former special teams player, a has-been football guy. When the ALS came I probably fade away quietly and die anonymously. That play made me visible at the exact moment this city needed a symbol. Years later, that visibility became a lifeline.”
“The truth I have to live with is this: The same play that helped New Orleans breathe again is a big reason I’m still breathing now.”
Gleason also released a musical project titled Rebirth,
which is influenced by his life since his ALS diagnosis. During the Monday night game, Gleason and former teammate Curtis Deloatch were honored as Legends of the Game, welcoming the former player back to the stadium that mirrors his own fight to rise.
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