This is Part 4 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: LIFE AFTER FOOTBALL
Football was Troy Polamalu's passion for most of his first 33 years on the planet. It started with him and his brother, Sakio, in his front yard, then took him to Tenmile, Ore., and nearly to Colorado before sending him back to Los Angeles and finally, Pittsburgh.
Through it all, Polamalu somehow remained the same person. Despite the accolades, the honors and the championships, he stayed grounded, something that's not easy to do when so many people are saying you're the greatest.
Those who have known him the longest know the reason.
"He’s as productive off the field as he is on the field," his uncle, Kennedy Polamalu, now a running backs coach for the Vikings, told me. "Somebody asked me the other day what thing stands out: He’s just a humble young man. That humility comes with service, comes with being a good son, a good nephew, a good teammate, good husband. That humility goes all around his life."
It was instilled upon him from a very young age. And he never forgot it.
Part of it was the culture from which he comes from. The Samoan culture is built on respect and honor. But his family also played a big part, as well. It started with his mother, Siuila Polamalu, extended to his aunt and uncle, Shelley and Salu Polamalu, and the extended family that included Kennedy Polamalu and the people of Tenmile.
With Troy Polamalu, it truly did take a village to raise him.
"I hope both," Kennedy Polamalu replied when asked whether it was culture or family that was the reason for Troy's humility. "We’re always obedient and respectful. That’s part of the way we were brought up. And also in your faith."
Now 39, Polamalu remains a deeply religious man. Has been for a long time.
But he also has seriously taken on his role as a father. When he played, his two boys, Paisios, born in 2008, and Ephraim, born in 2010, were constantly around.
And his wife, Theodora, has been a constant companion, as well. He's as dogged about being a good husband and father as he was being a great football player.
"You are exactly right. Right now, he’s trying to be the best father he can be," Kennedy Polamalu told me. "And when you say he enjoyed football, he’s attacking it just like he attacked football. He wanted to be the best that he could be. He will read. He will film-study. That’s where he’s at. He’ll do everything he can to be the best father he can. And that’s the way he approached his profession, too."
That led him away from the game -- and the Steelers -- for a time. As he explained after learning he had been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year in Miami at the Super Bowl, he wanted a clean break from football.
He didn't want to be looked at solely as a football player. He's had other things to keep him busy, namely raising Paisios and Ephraim. Paisios is nearly a teenager, and Ephraim is the same age his father was when he made the decision to move to Tenmile to get away from the troubled streets of Los Angeles.
"Thank God for that," Kennedy Polamalu said. "I think he’s going through that, not in terms of the trouble, but he’s going through that being a father. Troy was a very active young man. I just recall him growing up and watching him gather all these other kids and play on the streets, play in the park, wherever he could play. I was telling him, his oldest son reminds me of that. His oldest son is running around, gathering other kids. He’s doing all the same things. Having the Oregon community, the Tenmile community embrace him, it was tough for him at times, I’m sure, but they’ve done a nice job of teaching him what’s right and what’s wrong."
And sometimes that involves talking him into doing things he might not necessarily want to do. Kennedy Polamalu said that was the way it was with his nephew's now-famous commercials for Head & Shoulders shampoo.
Polamalu was approached by Head & Shoulders to be a spokesman during his playing days thanks to his flowing mane of hair, which pays homage to his Samoan ancestry.
Polamalu wasn't interested.
"That’s kind of been his old upbringing his whole life. He’s so popular with non-sports people, with Head & Shoulders, but that was an arm-twisting to even get him to do that," Kennedy Polamalu said.
"At the time, he wouldn’t (do it). I remember one time, the Steelers organization asked him to come to Carolina for a big signing. They had Jack Lambert, all the who’s who of Pittsburgh. They offered first-class seats for him and Theodora, because that was one of the things that was required, everything he did, I wanted them to do together, knowing it’s a temptation to be an athlete. One of the things I recommended is that they do it together. He said, ‘Uncle, no, I don’t want to do that. That’s three days away from my training. The Steelers pay me more to be on the field than to do signings.’ He’s always had a reason to hold back. But once he gets there, he’s all in if that makes sense."
It's one of those things that's made him a great football player, father, husband and teammate.
Now, he's even comfortable, lending his voice to the Disney film "Moana" as Villager No. 1. Is it any surprise he would be a nondescript character in the movie?
"Troy’s personality was extremely humble. He was generous. He was a genuine individual," said former Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden. "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. Troy was a big face in how he went about his business and being so genuine and so polite. It was all about the team."
For that reason, he never put too much emphasis on moving on to the next level. He was perfectly content to walk away from the game and not look back -- at least until he's being forced to do so thanks to his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"The points when I do pinch myself is when I’m on a commercial set and it’s me and another actor in front of the camera and there are 100 people behind and there are caterers and trailers," Polamalu told me. "I’m like, 'Ok, this is crazy.’ To me, the football part just naturally manifested itself. It was always, ‘I love what I’m doing. I just love to play football.’"
The kid who used to pretend he was Walter Payton out on the street or in his front yard will be joining Payton in the Hall of Fame.
He won everything possible and was honored in every possible way along the way, from a national championship at USC, Super Bowls with the Steelers, All-America and All-Pro honors and NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
But there was one thing Polamalu never did in his illustrious career.
"The funny thing about it is that I never watched football, but I was always a big Walter Payton fan, not only because he was soft-spoken, but because he was an amazing running back," Polamalu said. "(Soldier Field) was actually the only field I never played on in my NFL career. I was injured (in 2009). In my mind, I didn’t really miss it, because I had played on that field more than any field in my youth in my mind. I did tell my brother, ‘I had a chance to play on Soldier, missed the game.’
"It didn’t really matter to me. When it came down to football, I just loved playing football. I just enjoyed playing the actual sport of football. What’s unusual about that is that I wasn’t infatuated with the professional football game. I wasn’t infatuated with any team or player. I didn’t care about watching games or any of those things. I just loved to tackle people, juke people, go out and catch long balls and do that aspect of the game. Playing running back or playing safety didn’t really matter when it came to choosing colleges. It was more based on culture. I definitely loved that aspect of the game. Anytime I had the ball in practice or games, I loved that aspect of running with the football rather than tackling."
Tomorrow, Part 5: BROTHERS FOREVER
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