Yes, there are class acts in the NFL

[sigma7]

Former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason, who has been diagnosed with ALS, was presented with a Super Bowl ring by coach Sean Payton at a surprise party Monday night.

The 34-year-old Gleason revealed Sunday that he is battling ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease; the Saints made him their honorary captain for the game against the Houston Texans. On Monday, besides receiving the ring, Gleason got a key to the city from Mayor Mitch Landrieu....

...Perhaps Gleason will be remembered most for his blocked punt on the night the Louisiana Superdome reopened for the first time after Hurricane Katrina -- a play that stirred an already emotional crowd into a deafening, drink-spilling frenzy. Landrieu on Monday called that play the greatest in Saints franchise history.

Comments

No East Coast Bias here

[bedsitter23.livejournal.com]

Off topic, I thought you would appreciate (or maybe only get annoyed), but the local sports show was talking about the latest ESPN 30-for-30 about Steve Bartman and they said the first 17 minutes (!) of the documentary (which lest you forget is about the Cubs, their last 100 years, and the 2003 NL playoff series between the Cubs and Marlins) by giving full attention to Bill Buckner and the Boston Red Sox.

Re: No East Coast Bias here

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Oh, for the love....

I confess to not watching the Bartman doc because I probably react to Chicago fandom the way most people do to Boston fandom. I understand making a Buckner reference -- it's the most solid and memorable precedent of a championship-losing blunder in baseball (probably even sports) history. But 17 minutes? Guh. (Though, to be honest, if I had to make a doc about the Cubs, I'd probably make half of it be about another team, too.)

That said, I've never really seen that much of a comparison between the two -- Buckner was a player who made a critical error and Bartman interfered in the field of play (though I can't crucify a guy for getting caught up in the excitement of the moment). The most common thread between the two seems to be the fanbases' predilection for perpetual lamentation.