That's Steve Gleason.
For the readers of my blog who are football fans, Saints fans, or New Orleanians, you probably know who Steve Gleason is. But for the rest of you...
Steve was a professional football player for the Indianapolis Colts for a training camp and was signed by the Saints after he was released. It was in New Orleans that Steve found his niche in the NFL as a Special Teams ace and also played some Safety. But his personality truly endeared him to New Orleans. He came across as a bit quirky, doing things like being spotted in Uptown riding a bicycle with a leather football helmet or claiming to be a high rise building window washer in college. His playing style also made him a fan favorite, as he would give 110% whenever he was on the field. He was never the best player on the team, but he made up for it through his fearless play style and enthusiasm for the game.
Sometimes too enthusiastic. Google Steve "Falcon Punch" Gleason. :)
But one play as a Saint cemented Steve's legacy as a hero to the city forever.
On September 25, 2006, the Saints returned to the Superdome for the first game after Katrina. It was an incredibly emotional night. There was live music outside the Superdome during tailgating, a countdown to the Dome being reopened, a pregame concert featuring The Rebirth Brass Band, Green Day, and U2, and a game against the hated Atlanta Falcons.
For me personally, it was the first Saints game I had ever been to where my Dad wasn't on the sideline doing X-Ray duties. He had passed away 5 months prior. My Mother had also died the prior year, about 2 months before my Dad. This was while I was temporarily living in Jackson, MS away from my wife because of the devastation of Katrina forcing my employer to have us working elsewhere until we could get back downtown. Needless to say it was easily the worst year of my life, and that was with us sustaining minimal damage from the hurricane in comparison to so many others.
While the chorus of "When September Ends" rang out in the Dome, I was an emotional wreck. That game was the first taste of normalcy for me in over a year, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. U2 closed the pre-game concert with "Beautiful Day" to the roars of 70,000 Who Dats though, and it was like a switch had been thrown... Now it was time for football.
This was an unusual season for the Saints. After a year as the NFL's nomad team thanks to Katrina, they had hired a new coach, signed a new QB (who would go on to lead the team to a Superbowl win) and pieced together a team of free-agents who weren't household names but were smart, solid players. And in the draft they uncovered a gem of a wide receiver and drafted the most explosive offensive weapon coming out of college. Nobody expected this remade team with a rookie head coach to do anything, but they were 3-0 going into this game.
Atlanta had the ball first. And on 3rd down on their own possession, Michael Vick had the ball stripped which brought up 4th down.
Then this happened:
It was INSANE. I've never heard the Dome that loud. Ever. It was that moment when everyone in New Orleans had figured out we'd be back. And we are.
It was all triggered by Steve Gleason coming through the line and blocking that punt. That moment has been immortalized outside the Superdome now with a statue.
(Here's where the story sucks)
About a year after that punt block, Steve retired from the NFL, got an MBA, and went to work for a company out of Baton Rouge. In the meantime the Saints went on to win a Superbowl and become something of a media darling (pre-bounty scandal). A year or so after the Superbowl, Steve went public with some bad news.
He had been diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gherig's disease.
What is ALS?
Nobody could have faulted Steve if he had not gone public with his diagnosis, and instead opted to just quietly fade away. But he went public with the mission to fight ALS, bring awareness to the disease, and do what he can to help others who suffer with the disease.
Steve and his family founded TeamGleason.org. Their mission is here.
So what does all this have to do with me, and my running idiocy?
Steve's courage in the face of ALS has been very inspiring to me. I've shown my support for Team Gleason through buying their shirts from Fleurty Girl and Tasc Performance. I've worn the shirts in a couple races. I've even gotten to meet Steve on a couple of occasions after races. (And I PR'ed at both 5K and 13.1 distances in a Team Gleason shirt. Causation or coincidence?)
But for the Dopey Challenge, I figured it was time to try to do more to help. So with the help of Lauren from Team Gleason, I've set up a fundraising site to raise donations to help Steve and his organization. I'd like to raise a total of $500, which would work out to be about $10 a mile for all the miles I'll run while in Disney for the Dopey Challenge.
Russ Runs Abita (And Disney) for Team Gleason!
I hope you can put up a couple bucks to help out Team Gleason. It's a great cause.
From adversity, heroes are born.
