00:00How important is Steve Gleason to the area of New Orleans?
00:05I mean, I had a chance, if you remember, Mike, it was a year, year and a half after, I
00:11believe after Katrina, New Orleans hosted the Super Bowl.
00:15And I remember going back and I remember looking at all the buildings.
00:19They still had some of the tile off it.
00:22You know, it was so important to get that building back.
00:25You know, the casino is right around the corner there, Bourbon Street.
00:28And then you had Steve Gleason, who was still able to get around a lot.
00:32And we had him at the media row and radio row there.
00:38We were talking to him.
00:39How important has he become as a centerpiece for that community and with the New Orleans Saints?
00:46Well, there's a statue of him outside, right?
00:49And so he was a journeyman player, made the most iconic block punt in New Orleans Saints history.
00:57This is their 60th anniversary season.
01:00And really just his overall attitude, no surrender, never say die, never give up.
01:07It has permeated what was, you know, the really, really, really tough years of 06 and building through.
01:15And then just being Steve, right?
01:18I mean, just being here.
01:20He'll be here tonight.
01:21He's going to lead a second line to the building late this afternoon.
01:25You can't – it's hard to really put any word to it because it's almost been levels, right?
01:32The block punt, the ALS, and really just his attitude that you just cannot latch on to.
01:42He's been special in all three phases.
01:46And so it's hard to really – you know, what he means, he means a great deal to the city
01:51and he always has.
01:53You know, Mike, I had a conversation with Drew Brees about tonight and how special he's become also to that
02:01community.
02:02You know, anytime I talk to Archie Manning or any of the Mannings, I mean, they love New Orleans, obviously,
02:07because of where – and what Archie did there when he was a player there for you guys.
02:12But, boy, Drew Brees, I mean, he really loves New Orleans.
02:16When you hear him talking, it's like, you know, they gave him a respite.
02:19They gave him a second chance at life of a football career because of the shoulder injury.
02:24But after that, it became more, didn't it?
02:26Drew Brees being part of that community, especially Katrina, kind of putting them all together.
02:32Yeah, in the 06 season, I give Drew and Brittany a ton of credit for the pace of the rebuild
02:41of this city.
02:42So they come in 2006, plant their flag, and the city said, this is home for us.
02:49And we didn't know Sean Payton.
02:50We didn't know Drew Brees.
02:51And that 06 team goes to the NFC Championship game for the first time ever.
02:55I mean, just the way that they acted and said New Orleans is home, we're back, we're raising our kids
03:03here, meant a ton to this city, still does.
03:08So they're going to end up, and we're going to end up and we're going to end up, we're going
03:08to end this month.
