Newman Hosts the Team Gleason vs. Wounded Warrior Amputees Super Bowl Fundraiser

[FULL STORY]

 

More than 2,000 visitors, parents, students, alumni, and staff of Isidore Newman School packed into the bleachers and ground level of the School’s Lupin Field on January 30, 2013, to witness a unique event: The Steve Gleason & Team Gleason vs. Wounded Warrior Amputees Super Bowl Fundraiser. In this charity event, former and current New Orleans Saints players played a game of flag football versus the veterans – members of the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team – who were wounded in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The money raised by the event will go toward the Steve Gleason Foundation and the Team Gleason House for Innovative Living, which will help those living with ALS and other neuromuscular diseases lead independent lives.

 

The day before the event, several of the Wounded Warriors visited the School and spent time with students in every division. Wounded Warrior Team Manager David Van Sleet (Army) accompanied players Matthew Kinsey (Army), Nick Clark (Army), and Josh Wege (Marines) throughout the day. The group spoke with students in classrooms, addressed a middle school assembly, played on the field, and answered student questions about U.S. military operations overseas, military life, and the unique challenges they faced when returning home. The team was able to offer frank discussions of war and military life to Mr. Baldwin’s AP History Class, the members of which are studying the history of imperialism. The Middle School gathered to hear about the veteran’s missions abroad, their sacrifice, and their post-military lives. Lower schoolers had a chance to play football with the Wounded Warriors, learn about their state-of-the-art prosthetics, and get autographs. At the end of their visit, they were joined by a group of middle school students for a question-and-answer lunch.

 

On game day, throngs of fans covered Lupin Field during the pre-game festivities as the doors opened and the players moved onto the field. Autograph-seekers crowded around NFL players and former players, football celebrities, and the Wounded Warrior team members, asking them to sign game programs, footballs, and other sports gear. Other guests visited the various sponsor booths, sampled smoothies and popcorn, or lined up for burgers and fries at the NPA Concessions Stand and Green & White Grill.

 

As the sun set and the wind picked up, the event began. The two teams lined up on the edge of the field, the Wounded Warriors on one side of the 50-yard line and Team Gleason on the other. Chris Visser, the event organizer, introduced each of the speakers. Cooper Manning ’92 opened the night’s remarks, thanking the Wounded Warriors and the players from Team Gleason for helping make the event a reality. Ronnie Lamarque of Lamarque Ford and Charlie Young of Zimmer, Inc. each took a turn describing their commitment to the goals of the Steve Gleason Foundation.

 

Steve Gleason then spoke to the crowd. He spoke through a synthesizer that lets him use his own pre-recorded voice to read out statements that he has prepared ahead of time. He spoke about how his charity aims to end ALS and its debilitating effects, while simultaneously helping those who are living with the condition today. He thanked the Wounded Warriors for their sacrifice and for helping the cause, and he thanked his fellow NFL celebrities for lending a hand, but not without some good-natured ribbing to his former teammates and competitors.

 

Following the National Anthem sung by Newman Senior Rilan Roppolo, the teams took to the field. Team Gleason was made up of current Saints, former Saints, and a slew of NFL players from across the League. Among them were Lance Moore, Willie Roaf, Morten Andersen, Jon Stinchcomb, John Carney, Curtis DeLoatch, Tyrone Hughes, Todd Bouman, Ernie Conwell, and Orlando Ruff. In addition, the other players from the historic play, “The Blocked Punt,” Falcon punter Michael Koenen, Falcons long-snapper Boone Stutz, and the Saints Curtis DeLoatch, played in the game. NFL legends Rocky Bleier, Jerry Kramer, Bill Romanowski, Ted Johnson, Dick Vermeil, and Brian Baldinger cheered the team on from the stands, while former Saints player Scott Fujita spoke at halftime.

 

The Wounded Warrior team was made up of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who had been wounded in one of the conflicts. The actual name of the organization is the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team (WWAST), and while football is out of the team’s comfort zone, the athletes that comprise it were up to the challenge. The team’s vision is to “support and honor our soldiers’ and veterans’ sacrifices, and to show other amputees and everyone who sees or hears about us that life without a limb is limitless.” The team’s performance on the field was inspiring and measured up to the vision of the WWAST organization.

 

Throughout the game, Team Gleason rotated in Newman athletes from the School’s football team. In the end – and despite its professional pedigree – Team Gleason was no match for the Wounded Warriors, and the star-studded squad succumbed to the Wounded Warriors in a lopsided 58-26 defeat.

 

Click here to view an album and slideshow from the event.

 

Though the numbers are not yet in, it is safe to say that the event raised nearly $50,000 to help Steve Gleason’s cause. Gleason is already working to raise awareness of the disease, research technological solutions to help combat the disease’s effects, and to help those living with the condition lead productive and fulfilling lives. His latest project aims to build a facility in New Orleans where people with ALS (pALS) can live independently and control their environments solely through eye movements.

 

We would like to thank Cooper Manning, the Manning family, and all the students, parents, alumni, faculty, and staff of Newman for their help with this fundraiser. We would also like to thank Steve Gleason, his family and Team Gleason, and the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team. Special thanks go out to our primary sponsors Ronnie Lamarque and Lamarque Ford and Zimmer, Inc. of Warsaw, Indiana for their generous support for all these heroes and for this fundraiser. We also want to recognize and thank these other donors for their contributions to this fundraiser: IBERIABANK, Smoothie King, Excel Dryers, Epiphany Chocolates, Cold Stone Creamery & Blimpie Subs, Humana Health Care, and the National World War II Museum of New Orleans.