On Sept. 25, 2006, the Saints returned to New Orleans for their first home game since Hurricane Katrina. On Monday Night Football, the nation watched as it took just four snaps for history to be made. Steve Gleason blocked the punt, Curtis Deloatch recovered, and so much of what led up to the game was forgotten.
Even before Katrina made landfall, the Saints’ future was up in the air with talks of relocation coming as owner Tom Benson delayed negotiations with the state. On top of that, the Saints were facing a dangerous Falcons team led by Michael Vick and Warrick Dunn, and just a play before it looked like Atlanta wouldn’t even need to punt.
Remember how we got to this point, and relive the moment that’s now known as “Rebirth”.
Check out more episodes of REWINDER, each digging into the history behind an iconic moment, in our Youtube playlist.