Twenty years after the Superdome reopened, The Times-Picayune marked the anniversary with a front-page Sunday Sports feature, "'Domecoming' lives on," by staff writer Luke Johnson, ahead of Monday night's Falcons at Saints game (7:15 p.m., ESPN). The story opens with Leroy Mitchell, the Whistle Monsta.
The whistle that survived Katrina
When Leroy evacuated to Florida days before the storm, the whistle stayed behind on a table in his home. An upstairs neighbor went in to save what he could, and one of the things he grabbed was the whistle, partially submerged in the floodwater. Leroy later gave it to his daughter. The water line is still visible.
Red carpet night
Leroy watched that season from Florida, feeling connected to every displaced New Orleanian through the team. So when the Saints came home on Sept. 25, 2006, he knew it called for something special. He swapped his usual game-day uniform for a tuxedo, with a Superman shirt underneath and the whistle helmet on top. As he told the paper, "it was red carpet, baby!"
He cried on the way to his seat in Section 111, and again when he saw the stadium staff he thinks of as family. Then the banner dropped, Steve Gleason blocked the punt, and the Dome erupted.
Monty on Monday Night Football
Rewatch the broadcast near the 13-minute mark of the fourth quarter and you'll see a young girl on the front rail wearing a giant whistle helmet. That's Leroy's daughter, Monty, who was 11. She grew up on that front rail watching games with her dad, and later bought her own seat right next to his.
Back Monday night
Monday the Saints and Falcons meet again on Monday Night Football, 20 years later, and the Whistle Monsta will be right where he always is. Who Dat!
Read the full story: "'Domecoming' lives on: Sights, sounds and smells remain from iconic game 20 years later," by Luke Johnson, The Times-Picayune, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. It's in the Sunday print edition and at NOLA.com.
Saints coverage on NOLA.com