FILE - This Sept. 25, 2006 file photo shows the bronze statue titled "Rebirth," outside the...
FILE - This Sept. 25, 2006 file photo shows the bronze statue titled "Rebirth," outside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which depicts former New Orleans Saint Steve Gleason blocking a punt against the Atlanta Falcons during the first Monday Night Football game, after the Superdome re-opened after Hurricane Katrina. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - It took about 90 seconds.
After more than a year away from the Superdome, the New Orleans Saints returned home on Sept. 25, 2006, for a Monday Night Football game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Then Steve Gleason came through the middle of Atlanta’s punt protection untouched.
Gleason blocked Michael Koenen’s punt. Saints cornerback Curtis DeLoatch recovered the ball in the end zone. The Superdome erupted.
Twenty years later, the play remains one of the defining moments in Saints and New Orleans history.
Today marks the 16th anniversary of Steve’s blocked punt and the 11th anniversary of Team Gleason.
Thank you to our followers and supporters for being a part of this journey.
Our Future is Greater Than Our Past! -SG#nowhiteflags #saints #teamgleason pic.twitter.com/Znq1o9VIh0
— Team Gleason (@TeamGleason) September 25, 2022
The game marked the Saints’ first appearance in the Superdome since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and heavily damaged the stadium in August 2005.
The Saints spent the 2005 season displaced, playing home games in Baton Rouge, San Antonio and one at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.
This combination of Aug. 30, 2005 and July 29, 2015 aerial photos shows downtown New Orleans...
This combination of Aug. 30, 2005 and July 29, 2015 aerial photos shows downtown New Orleans and the Superdome flooded by Hurricane Katrina and the same area a decade later. Katrina's powerful winds and driving rain bore down on Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2005. The storm caused major damage to the Gulf Coast from Texas to central Florida while powering a storm surge that breached the system of levees that were built to protect New Orleans from flooding. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Gerald Herbert)(David J. Phillip, Gerald Herbert | AP)
By Sept. 25, 2006, the Superdome was ready to reopen.
The night began with a pregame performance by U2 and Green Day, including “The Saints Are Coming.” Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint performed the national anthem.
FILE - New Orleans Saints fans listen to the Goo Goo Dolls in front of the Louisiana Superdome...
FILE - New Orleans Saints fans listen to the Goo Goo Dolls in front of the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Sept. 25, 2006, upon reopening for the New Orleans Saints' first game in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina struck more than a year earlier. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Then came football.
Atlanta received the opening kickoff but failed to move the ball. On the Falcons’ first punt attempt, Gleason broke through the middle and got both hands on Koenen’s kick.
DeLoatch recovered it for a touchdown.
ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico made the call that became synonymous with the moment: “Touchdown, New Orleans.”
Then the broadcast went quiet.
Tirico later said he and the broadcast crew intentionally stopped talking and allowed the sound inside the Superdome to tell the story.
Read more:Drew Brees jumped curbs and got stuck in a garage before Superdome reopening
The Saints never trailed.
New Orleans defeated Atlanta 23-3, improving to 3-0 in the first season under head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees.
The team went on to finish 10-6, win the NFC South and reach the NFC Championship Game for the first time in franchise history.
File-This Sept. 25, 2006, file photo shows New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, left, hugging...
File-This Sept. 25, 2006, file photo shows New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, left, hugging coach Sean Payton after their football game with Atlanta Falcons at the newly re-opened Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Payton sees Monday night’s matchup with rival Atlanta as a separate event from the 10th anniversary of the Superdome’s reopening after Hurricane Katrina. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
But for many fans, the season — and the franchise’s new era — will always be remembered for what happened less than two minutes into that Monday night game.
The moment has since been immortalized outside the Superdome.
The Saints unveiled the “Rebirth” statue in 2012 depicting Gleason stretching out to block the punt. Gleason said at the time the statue represented more than a football play, describing it as a symbol of the city’s recovery and determination after Katrina.
Two decades later, the video remains instantly recognizable to Saints fans.
A player breaking free. A blocked punt. A loose football in the end zone. And a sound from inside the Superdome that told the rest of the country New Orleans was home again.
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