The parallels between Steve Gleason's legendary blocked punt, what it meant for the city of New Orleans and how it resembles his own personal struggle are chilling. A play on the football field that will forever be known as the "rebirth" of New Orleans was, in many ways, a "rebirth" for Gleason. He just did not know it at the time.
Almost exactly 20 years ago, the New Orleans Saints returned to the Superdome for the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. The venue that served as a shelter for thousands during and after the storm became, once again, the home of a proud football team. A minute and a half after the opening kickoff of the Sept. 25, 2006, game against the rival Atlanta Falcons, Gleason made the most memorable play in franchise history, blocking a punt that was scooped up in the end zone.
It was a play that gave the Saints and the city of New Orleans hope once again. 20 years ago, the @Saints player their first game back in The Superdome after Hurricane Katrina.The Steve Gleason blocked punt will live on forever. 💛ATLvsNO – 8:15pm ET on ESPNStream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/BUyftIq5D3 On Monday, the Falcons return to the Superdome to face the Saints in Week 4 of the 2026 season. The team will honor Gleason and that 2006 squad in a 20th anniversary celebration. It will undoubtedly be a meaningful return to the Superdome for Gleason.
"When I roll back into that stadium, I will not only be revisiting a monument of 2006, but I will be walking into a mirror — a place that had to learn how to rise," Gleason said on "Good Morning America" on Monday. "I had to learn the same thing." Five years after he made an indelible mark on New Orleans with his blocked punt, in 2011, Gleason revealed that he was diagnosed with ALS. The average life expectancy after diagnosis is about three to five years, yet Gleason is among the 10-20% of those who survive for 10 years or more.
"I'm still here," Gleason said on GMA. "That still surprises some people. It does not surprise me as much as it used to." Gleason uses speech synthesis technology to communicate and requires assistance to move and breathe.
Still, he relishes in a "miraculous, wonderful life" and remains an active contributor to the ALS awareness movement. He became the first NFL player to win a Congressional Gold Medal in 2019 for his activism. NFL players represent one of the populations that is at higher risk of developing ALS than the general public, Gleason said.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
