New Orleans Saints: Relive Steve Gleason’s blocked punt and the history behind it
By Ryan Brown
Relive the historic moment that Steve Gleason blocked a punt leading to a New Orleans Saints’ touchdown in the first game back in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina in this new video from SB Nation.
If you’ve been a New Orleans Saints fan long enough, you likely remember some pretty important moments in the team’s history.
In Saints’ history, two moments stand out as the most important. The most important event in franchise history for most fans is the team’s first and only Super Bowl win following the 2009 season.
The second (and arguably more emotionally compelling) moment came on September 25th, 2006. The first game back in the Louisiana Superdome following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina just over a year prior.
After Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Superdome, leaving the Saints future in New Orleans in doubt, the Saints signed head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees before the 2006 season.
In one year, New Orleans went from perennial bottom-feeders in the NFL to one of the league’s consistent top units.
There is so much history that led up to this game, and to the incredible blocked punt that has it’s own statue built outside the Superdome.
This video from SB Nation’s series “Rewinder” excellently captures the history and emotion behind this blocked punt that is now known simply as “Rebirth.”
This play is one of two in Saints’ history that still gets me excited when I watch it.
The other being the Tracy Porter pick-6 on Peyton Manning late in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, essentially putting the game out of reach (if you haven’t already, listen to Jim Henderson’s radio call on that play and the final seconds of the game here).
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Besides those two, what other moments in Saints history do y’all think are the most exciting or important? Let us know!