by Bo Marchionte
Canton, Ohio – On April 19th, 1981, in Garden Grove, California Troy Polamalu was born.
It was several years later at Douglas High School in Winston, Oregon where his football career was born. After persuading his mother to allow him to move north with family. As an adolescent, Polamalu fell in love visiting Oregon and ended up moving up the west coast after persuading his mother to move away from Garden Grove.
Polamalu ascended quickly to become one of the state’s top high school football players. Accolades fro Super Prep and other outlets helped him gain national recognition which led to recruitment by USC where he would become a two-time team captain for the Trojans.
That is just a glimpse of Polamalu’s early days prior to being selected 16th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was an eight-time Pro Bowler, two-time Super Bowl winner and 2010 Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year.
Thirty-six players from the secondary are enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and now Troy Polamalu that little boy from Garden Grove is amongst them.
The Steelers faithful in attendance raised the decibels as the intensity of the crowd roared seeing him on stage and sharing in the moment of Polamalu trying on his Gold Jacket for the very first time.
With his long famous black locks of hair pulled back in a ponytail, Polamalu was finally able to slide his arms through the sleeves, that serves as the first iconic symbol of being selected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
After an illustrious career that spanned 12 seasons, where he established himself as one of the most selfless and fearless players in the National Football League, Covid-19 almost robbed him of the chance to enjoy the magnificent festivities in Canton, Ohio.
Polamalu second time on stage, he returned in his golden jacket draped with a lush red lei around his neck to honor his Polynesian heritage. The red was magnified against the backdrop of the gold jacket while unveiling his bronze bust.
The crowd then exploded when he pulled his hair tie from his head to unleash his long black hair to the joyous banter of the crowd before giving his enshrinement speech.
His quiet unassuming voice rose in front of the microphone as he proclaimed.
“I love football,” Polamalu said. “I love football. It was my entire life as long as I can remember.”
The crowd once again stood and swung their Terrible Towels in unison.
His style of play never mirrored the man off the field. His reckless abandon and fury he brought to the secondary was never his nature off the field.
“I came from a culture where discipline, humility, and respect,” Polamalu said. “Are not only the foundation to our survival but the key to our existence.”
It speaks volumes on who Polamalu is as a man, but he delved deeper into what made him tick. While his personality on the field never coincided with the demeanor off it, he revealed some of the men who helped create a Hall of Fame safety.
“I fostered an obsession early,” Polamalu said about the game of football. “I modeled after a meticulous regiment by some of the greatest artists of the past. Dickens. Beethoven. These great men were known to have a beast like work ethic, coupled with an unwavering ability to create until perfection. Beyond what most believe the human body will allow.”
It’s only fitting, that the motivation for this deeply spiritual man comes from the strangest source of strength.
Artist’s!
In between his cultural values and his soft-spoken words and inviting personality, the truth is revealed about what really made Polamalu special.
His pursuit to perfect his passion and love of the game of football.
“To me that’s what it takes to make ordinary to extraordinary,” Polamalu said. “It is the willingness to push beyond what the brain says to the body is possible and create a new order of boundaries for oneself.”
Men who used paint brushes and musical notes helped develop the demeanor of one of the best safeties and NFL has ever scene.
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt