It barely took 90 seconds for New Orleans to get its signal back.
On Sept. 25, 2006, the Saints finally returned to the Superdome for a Monday Night Football matchup with the Atlanta Falcons, more than a year after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and badly damaged the building in August 2005. The stadium had been quiet for too long. The city had been waiting even longer.
Then Steve Gleason shot through the middle of Atlanta’s punt protection untouched.
He got to Michael Koenen’s punt, blocked it, and Saints cornerback Curtis DeLoatch fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. The Superdome shook. ESPN’s Mike Tirico delivered the call that became attached to the moment forever: “Touchdown, New Orleans.”
Then the broadcast went silent.
Tirico later said he and the crew deliberately stopped talking and let the noise inside the dome carry the rest. It worked. The building told the story for them.
The Saints never let Atlanta back in. New Orleans won 23-3 and moved to 3-0 in the first season under head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees. That team finished 10-6, won the NFC South and reached the NFC Championship Game for the first time in franchise history.
Still, for a lot of people, the season is remembered most for what happened almost immediately on that Monday night.
Before the football even started, the night had already been built to mean something. U2 and Green Day performed “The Saints Are Coming,” and Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint sang the national anthem. Then came the snap that turned the whole evening.
Atlanta got the opening kickoff but couldn’t move the ball. On its first punt, Gleason burst through and got both hands on the kick. DeLoatch finished it off in the end zone, and the moment instantly became part of New Orleans sports history.
The play has since been honored outside the Superdome with the “Rebirth” statue, unveiled in 2012 and showing Gleason extending himself to block the punt. Gleason said then that the statue stood for more than football, calling it a symbol of the city’s recovery and determination after Katrina.
Twenty years later, the clip still hits the same way for Saints fans: a blocked punt, a loose ball, a touchdown, and a stadium finally roaring like home again.
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The Saints Hero In Their Most Iconic Superdome Moment Was Unexpected
When the Saints came home to the Superdome on Sept. 25, 2006, one of the most memorable plays in franchise history almost had a different cast. Curtis DeLoatch was not even supposed to be on the punt rush, but a shortage of players sent him in at the last second, placing him in the middle of the sequence that helped define the night and fuel a 23-3 win over Atlanta.
Steve Gleasons block became the image that lives on outside the Superdome, but DeLoatchs role gave the play its finish. He was the one who recovered the loose ball for a touchdown, a reminder that some of the most iconic moments in Saints history have turned on unexpected hands being in the right place at the right time. [Read more 🡒]
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Martin Emerson Jr. is listed as questionable after getting on the practice field for the first time this week, while Nathan Shepherd is expected to go despite being limited. For a Saints team trying to keep Week 3 from turning into an attrition game, the availability list matters almost as much as the matchup itself, and the injury updates on the other sideline only add another layer to watch. [Read more 🡒]
Ex-Jaguars RB Already Giving Saints Fans A Reason To Worry
Through two games, Travis Etienne Jr. has given the Saints an early reminder that a big contract does not automatically bring quick certainty. New Orleans brought in the former Jaguars running back on a deal worth $48 million, expecting him to be a key piece of the offense, but his production so far has been quieter than hoped and his yards per touch are down from last season.
Etienne has still been on the field plenty, logging a 57% snap count, but the backfield work has not been his alone. He has shared touches with other players, which is part of why it is far too early to judge the deal either way, though it is enough to keep the Saints watching closely as the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]