Saints: The story behind this trend in Social Media today
06-10-2026
The main Saints-related conversation filling social media right now is the 20th anniversary of the New Orleans Saints’ return to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, centered on Steve Gleason’s blocked punt.On September 25, 2006, the Saints played their first home game in more than a year, a Monday Night Football matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. The Superdome had been severely damaged and used as a shelter during the storm; its reopening was framed as a civic “Domecoming.” Roughly 90 seconds into the game, special-teams player Steve Gleason burst through the line and blocked a punt by Michael Koenen. Curtis DeLoatch recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. The crowd’s reaction turned the play into an immediate symbol of the city’s attempt to restart.That moment has been memorialized by a “Rebirth” statue outside the stadium. Gleason was later diagnosed with ALS; he has said publicly that the play and the support that followed from New Orleans effectively kept him going, and that without it he believes he would not still be alive. He has continued advocacy work through Team Gleason while his physical abilities have declined.This week the Saints hosted the Falcons again on Monday Night Football (October 5, 2026) and marked the anniversary with Gleason-focused events: a second-line parade, a reunion at the statue (including with Koenen), pregame recognition, and heavy social-media circulation of the original block and related footage. Posts and coverage repeatedly tied the old play to the city’s recovery narrative and to Gleason’s ongoing life with ALS.A separate, lower-profile online revival of the old “Oh When the Saints Go Marching In” meme (tied to mid-2010s YouTube and animation edits) has also been circulating on short-video platforms, but the dominant Saints story on social media today is the Domecoming anniversary and Gleason’s blocked punt.