No White Flags: Steve Gleason & Saints Refuse To Go Quietly

If you are a fan of the New Orleans Saints or the NFL you may be able to recall where you were on September 25, 2006. It had been 21 months since the New Orleans Saints had been able to play in the Superdome. The Saints, their fans, and the NFL were almost completely flooded, sunk, and washed out of New Orleans. It is one of the most memorable games for Saints fans ever. They faced their rival Atlanta Falcons before a packed Superdome of 70,003 and over 10 million TV viewers. The Falcons weren’t able to muster any type of offense against the Saints. Then it happened. In the broken homes and near broken resilient hearts and minds of millions of Saints fans the impossible became possible. The Falcons hiked the ball to their punter Micheal Koenen. He took one step and Steve Gleason soared out from the backfield and into the hearts of every Saints fan. Our Superdome, our hearts, and our voices exploded in that one moment. We all knew that not only were the Saints back but, everyone who called New Orleans home would eventually be too.

While that 2006 season has become part of the history and lore of the Saints unfortunately, so has Steve Gleason. In January 2011 Gleason was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) at the young age of 33. Although Gleason was released by the Saints in 2007 he was still part of the Saints team that eventually went to the Superbowl XLIV and won. He has been so endeared by the Saints organization and the city that he was given a Superbowl ring and the keys to the city in 2011. It’s with this terminal disease in mind that Steve Gleason did what any newly crested father would do. He hired Sean Pamphilon to help create a film for his newly born son Rivers Varisco Gleason. Rivers who was born on October 19, 2011 will not have the luxury of knowing his father when he gets older. ALS is a terminal disease and the majority of its victims pass on within 2 to 3 years of contracting the disease. Gleason knowing this began a video project to pass along to his son. It would make sense that a player with Gleason’s passion for the game and life would want to share that with his son. Unfortunately, Pamphilon had other things on his mind other than Gleason’s son when he released the audio of Gregg Williams enticing players to injury several San Francisco 49ers.

Pamphilon reacted to severe criticism by releasing this statement


No White Flags: Steve Gleason & Saints Refuse To Go Quietly | NEW ORLEANS RISING