Steve Saling is an ALS pioneer and a role model for all of us at Team Gleason. He is a huge part of the Team Gleason House, as he was the impetus behind the first ever ALS residence of its kind, The Leonard Florence Center for Living in Boston. We picked him as the candidate to come to Nola for the Superbowl and were so excited to meet him. He and Steve G hit it off and share a similar creative passion for life. And they are both smart-asses. He will forever be a huge inspiration to Team Gleason. We love you Steve Saling! Here is his blog:
“I want to thank Team Gleason for an experience that will be with me for life. It would be quite the adventure just to party in New Orleans for the Mardi Gras or hanging out with other pALS watching some legendary football stars play flag football with a team of Wounded Warrior amputees. But the week would culminate in not only being at Superbowl 47, but being a part of it. How to describe the experience of being on the field for the Superbowl… Spent about an hour on the field taking our time as we circle the field. Met a bunch of ring wearers. Had the tremendous honor of meeting OJ Brigance. I cringed when rammed OJ with my wheelchair. Not many people can claim to have a good hit on the great linebacker Brigance so I hope he has a sense of humor about being on the receiving end of a tackle. ? We watch the Ravens practice in their endzone for quite a while and was blown away when one of the coaches came over and gave me the scrimmage ball of the soon to be Superbowl Champion Ravens. We stayed on the field until about 20 minutes before the game when we took our seats on the 9-1/2 yard line at the top of the lower level right near the beer stand and plenty of TVs to watch the replays. The blackout was interesting. I wonder who got fired for that. Anyway, thanks to Steve Gleason and Team Gleason with a special thanks to Scott Fujita for making this all happen. As a life long Falcons fan, I guess I can forgive the guy with the statue out front for blocking that punt a few years ago. ? Thank you Steve for the experience of a lifetime. Cheers brother.”
