This is final of a five-part series on Steelers legend Troy Polamalu, in advance of his scheduled Aug. 8 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Today: BROTHERS FOREVER
When you spend 14 years in one place as Troy Polamalu did in Pittsburgh, friendships are formed. Lifelong friendships.
And teams that win championships seem to form bonds that are the greatest of all.
For a player such as Polamalu, the love affair between him and Steelers fans wasn't the only one he shared. That love affair extended into the locker room.
The reason?
"As far as I'm concerned, he was as good a teammate as I've ever seen," said former Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, who spent more than 50 years as a player and coach in the NFL. "He was so positive with the goals of the team and unassuming in terms of personal praise. He was absolutely too good to be true, but he was true."
No matter who you talk to, that's the resounding feeling among Polamalu's former teammates -- people whom he still considers among his closest friends.
As an unquestioned star, Polamalu could have been a jerk. He could have allowed the success and his fame go to his head. Instead, the more famous he got, the more grounded he seemed to become.
His college coach, Paul Hackett, who recruited him back to Los Angeles after Polamalu had spent 10 years in tiny Tenmile, Ore., said it was just his nature.
"Even when we brought him in, Troy was quiet. I was worried about how he would be coming back to Los Angeles, but it seemed like he carried what he learned in Oregon back with him to Los Angeles," Hackett said. "There were never any issues. He just provided quiet leadership."
It was always appreciated by his teammates. As LeBeau said, Polamalu was not just a good teammate. He was a great one.
When longtime Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden was struggling in what would be his final season with the team, Polamalu wrote him a heartfelt letter expressing admiration with how his teammate was handling the situation.
He didn't have to do it. Of course, McFadden kept the letter under lock and key, only sharing it years later as part of his recollections of Polamalu.
"Troy’s personality was extremely humble. He was generous. He was a genuine individual," McFadden said. "What was special about him was that he was becoming a superstar, but you couldn’t tell it. Troy’s locker was not too far from my locker, and he was a personable individual. That was our entire team. We shared that personality. Jerome Bettis was a potential Hall of Famer. Joey Porter, James Farrior, Hines (Ward), that was collectively the same vibe with all of the superstars I encountered my rookie year (in 2005). They made me feel as if I had been a member of the team for some time and I had never played in one ballgame."
Polamalu's uncle, Kennedy Polamalu, sees that bond the group shares when they get together. He remains close with his nephew. And as a longtime assistant coach for the Browns and Jaguars and now with the Vikings, he should have plenty to share with the group.
But that's not always the case.
"It’s very special. The camaraderie that he had there is very special," Kennedy Polamalu said. "I’m in the profession and all that, but when they get together, I’m an outsider. I used to talk ball with them. I talked with him after every game his rookie year. We’d talk ball until the Jaguars beat them. Then he was, ‘I’m not talking to you anymore, Uncle.’ It was fun stuff."
That's why when Polamalu is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame later this summer, you better believe there will be a large contingent of his former teammates on hand.
They will be there out of love and respect for a man they consider a brother. They'll also be there to watch him squirm, knowing that he doesn't love the spotlight.
He always wanted to deflect any individual honors away from himself and onto his teammates.
As he said earlier this year, he's always considered himself "a fraud" because of his stardom. Nothing could be further from the truth, but it's just the way he was brought up. It's the way he lives.
"He’s just one of my favorite players that I’ve had," Hackett said. "Even after I left USC and we were playing against him in the NFL, he’d always come over and give me a hug. There wouldn’t be a lot of words. That’s not Troy’s way. But it was always a nice moment."
The words will come in this moment. He'll be asked to reflect on his career.
"I’ve always had a strange feeling about it. I honestly felt like I never deserved any of these awards anyway," Polamalu said. "So, when you tell me I’m up there with the Jim Browns and people like that, I’m like, ‘OK, here you go again. Troy, you’re fooling everybody once again.’ You were an All-American. You’re a college hall of famer. You’re this and that. It’s like somebody is going to figure out sooner or later that I’m a fraud in all of this."
Or not. Nor should they.
Bill Cowher, the coach who selected him in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft, also will go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer. He's looking forward to the event as much for Polamalu as he is for himself.
"This is special with Troy because of all the things we went through, watching his career," Cowher said. "He’s a special young man with Theodora and the kids. Seeing the kind of father he is and husband he is, he’s such a good guy. Having him as a player was just a real joy."
If you missed any of this 5-part series, you can read them all with the links below:
Part 1: 'Street rat' beginnings
Part 2: The journey, from L.A. to Tenmile
Part 3: A bumpy start in the NFL
Part 4: Like football, like fatherhood
To continue reading, log into your account:
