Picture it: New Orleans, 2006.  The Saints are back in the Superdome for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.  The energy is explosive.  The fans (like me) are insanely drunk and near rabid.  And the home team is taking on its long time nemesis, the Atlanta Falcons.  Are you picturing it?  Do you feel the energy?  Are your nipples perked?   

Now picture the Falcons on their opening drive going 3 and out.  The unstoppable Michael Vick gets stuffed.  The crowd is on its feet for the first punt of the game.  Then, out of nowhere, a long-haired beast in black and gold comes bursting through the line, untouched, and heads straight for the unsuspecting punter.  He hits the ball and knocks it right into the end zone where the Saints recover for the first touchdown of the game.  Saints fans that were nearly breathless with excitement are now in wide-eyed amazement.  They can’t help but ask themselves “is this even real?”   

That night in the Dome is one I’ll never forget.  Which is why it truly saddens me to hear the news that Steve Gleason, the man who helped set the tone for that emotionally charged ass kicking of the Falcons, is retiring from the NFL.  Gleason’s apparently decided to get married and travel the world.  He’s decided to enjoy his money before he’s too old and his knees are in jeopardy of falling off.  (Selfish prick.)   

Gleason’s name may not be known around the league.  Most special team players aren’t household names, with the exception of cyborgs like Chicago Bears punt returner Devin Hester.  But for Gleason, redemption for years of being  an unknown came in heroic and almost fabled fashion that historic night.   

Even though his retirement won’t generate the pomp and circumstance of Brett Favre’s big announcement, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter.  You see, even though Gleason wasn’t a pro-bowler, or a record breaker, or even a Super Bowl Champ, he was still “the man.”  He’s the man who donated his long, greasy hair to “locks of love.”    He’s the man who formed the One Sweet World Foundation, which advocates literacy and environmental causes.   And after Hurricane Katrina, he used his organization to initiate “Backpacks for Hope“, which provided school supplies to thousands of families in the Gulf Coast.