Former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason got to reminisce on the good ole’ days when his son, Rivers, pushed him out in a wheelchair before Monday night’s primetime game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Gleason played college football at Washington State University. He went undrafted in 2000 and signed with the New Orleans Saints, after a brief period in Indianapolis Colts camp. He became a special team’s standout and a backup safety, known for his hustle and physical play.
His defining moment came on September 25, 2006. The Saints were playing the Atlanta Falcons in their first home game at the Superdome since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Early in the game, Gleason blocked a punt, and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety. The play came to symbolize the city’s recovery and resilience, and it is commemorated by a statue outside the Superdome.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the monumental play, the Saints honored “Steve Gleason and Curtis Deloatch as Legends of the Game, recognizing their roles in the blocked punt touchdown that helped ignite the Saints’ 23-3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons and delivered one of the most iconic moments in franchise history.”
In an interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, Gleason said that moment in his NFL career has served as a “lifeline” amid his journey with ALS.
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Gleason would retire from the NFL in 2007 after several injuries, including shoulder problems and concussions.
In January 2011, Gleason’s life would change forever when he found out he was diagnosed with ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, “ALS is a neurological disorder that affects motor neurons.” Later on, “in people with ALS, the brain loses its ability to start and control voluntary movements such as walking, talking, chewing and other functions, as well as breathing. ALS is progressive, meaning symptoms get worse over time.”
Even though Gleason has lost function of his entire body, his brain is very much intact, and that helps him remain grateful for each day he gets.
“I cannot move, talk, or breathe on my own. Some days are brutal,” Gleason told Roberts. “And still, this is a miraculous, wonderful life. … I wake up, I watch the sunrise, I am with [my wife] Michel, [kids] Rivers and Gray. I get to love this life and the people in it.”
“I live on a ventilator,” he continued. “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’s story has never really been about football statistics. A special teamer who blocked one punt on one night in 2006 became a symbol for a city rebuilding itself, and that same moment later gave him a platform to help others facing the disease that has taken so much from him. Twenty years after the play, he was back on the Superdome field, wheeled out by his son, Rivers, and honored by the franchise and fans who have never forgotten what he gave them.
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