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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
