nypost
On Monday, Steve Gleason took center stage as the New Orleans Saints commemorated one of the most memorable plays in their history. The former safety led a second-line parade through downtown New Orleans before a Domecoming event that marked 20 years since the Saints played their first game back in the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina.
Gleason's blocked punt early in that 2006 game became an enduring part of NFL history. "When I roll back into that stadium, I will not only be visiting a monument to 2006, I will be walking into a mirror, a place that learned how to rise," Gleason told Good Morning America before the Saints fell 45-24 to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. "I had to learn the same thing. Twenty years later, I can't wait to be in the room where that love still lives."
Gleason, of course, enters the stadium in a wheelchair rather than on foot. The Saints legend was diagnosed with ALS in 2011 and is unable to move, speak, or breathe without assistance. He communicates using eye-tracking technology on a tablet. According to the ALS Association, only about 10% of people with the condition survive 10 or more years after diagnosis.
Now 49, Gleason has used his additional years to establish Team Gleason, a charity that has raised more than $65 million to support its mission of enhancing the lives of those with ALS and their caregivers through technology, equipment, and empowerment. "If I do not block that punt, I am another former special teams player, a has-been football guy," Gleason said. "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."
A blocked punt in Week 3 would not typically be remembered for decades, but for a city still reeling from a catastrophic hurricane that claimed 1,300 lives, the play and the subsequent touchdown return less than two minutes into the game came to symbolize a Rebirth, as it is still known today. Two decades later, Gleason acknowledges that the hope he gave New Orleans in that instant has been returned many times over. "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 said.
Key Analysis
Gleason's journey from NFL special teamer to ALS advocate illustrates how a single moment can transcend sports. His blocked punt not only lifted a grieving city but also gave him a platform that continues to fuel his philanthropic efforts. The intersection of his personal struggle and New Orleans' recovery underscores the enduring power of resilience and community.
Originally reported by nypost.