Monday night, the Saints host the Falcons, but this game is about more than the regular-season rivalry. It’s also a night to remember one of the most emotional moments in New Orleans sports history — the Saints’ return to the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina. The Saints’ radio voice, Mike Hoss, was a fan in the stands when Steve Gleason famously blocked Michael Koenen’s punt, setting off an eruption of emotion inside the Superdome.
“I’ve always called it guttural, right? It was every emotion that people had, inside, from Katrina; just came out at once,” Hoss said.
The Saints went on to win 23-3, but Hoss says Gleason’s blocked punt became a defining moment in the city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
“It was a big start. And a big start to, really, the comeback of a city; just to be able to rebuild this building in less than a year and to say, ‘Hey, if they can build that building back, I can come back.’ It was a pivotal moment,” Hoss noted.
Gleason, who has been living with ALS for years, will be at Monday night’s game as an honorary captain and will lead the “Who Dat” chant before kickoff. Hoss says part of what made Gleason’s block so powerful was that nobody saw it coming.
“Because you went from zero to a million in a second of a ‘Boom!’ You can’t have people relate to it; it’s a release,” Hoss explained.
