If you were hoping for a glimpse of Troy Polamalu returning to Heinz Field for the first time since his retirement following the 2014 season, you missed your first chance.
That happened Saturday night during the team's Alumni dinner that celebrated Polamalu, Bill Cowher, Alan Faneca, Donnie Shell and Bill Nunn being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year.
But Polamalu and Cowher, Faneca and Shell will make another appearance Sunday night when the Steelers host the Seahawks when they are presented with their Hall of Fame rings at halftime of the game. And the response from the crowd on hand for its favorite son, one of the most iconic players in the storied Steelers history, figures to be an emotional one.
Especially for Polamalu.
It might be the most anticipated return to Pittsburgh in the history of the city.
While Polamalu was at odds with the team at the time of his retirement in April, 2015, he isn't any longer, telling me at his induction announcement at the Super Bowl in Miami in 2020 that while he didn't see it as such at the time, it was a blessing.
Sunday will mark his first time back at Heinz Field since his final game Jan. 3, 2015 in a playoff loss to the Ravens, but he feels like he never left.
"It’s without a doubt, the people," Polamalu said Saturday night about what makes Pittsburgh so special. "It’s so weird to me to think that, like coming back to the stadium is home. I lived here in Pittsburgh. That’s home. So, it’s about the people. Without a doubt, the Rooney family are great representatives of the Steelers. It’s a culture that runs through the Rooney family.
"For me, that’s what I loved about playing for Coach Cowher. Being from Western Pennsylvania, he made sure the team embodied that. To me, it’s the culture of the city and the Rooney family represents that."
Polamalu hadn't come back to the stadium or been around the Steelers for so long, not necessarily because he was angry the team asked him to retire in 2015, but because, as he told me two years ago, he wanted to be known as more than just a football player.
In a way, he is returning to the city. He and wife Theodora and their two sons moved to California. But Polamalu is quick to note that they didn't do so immediately after his playing days were done.
In fact, he emotionally called Pittsburgh his home, wiping away tears with a Terrible Towel he had with him.
"It’s funny because I lived here. It’s not like I left and I’m coming back. I lived here and only most recently moved to California," Polamalu said, his voice choking up. "It’s not like when I come to the stadium, that’s my home. Giant Eagle, Shady Side Academy, Wexford Elementary, Pine-Richland. This is where my kids, Magee-Womens Hospital was where my children were born. I’m so blessed."
Polamalu was the featured speaker in Canton, Ohio, on the opening night of the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony, entering the hall that night with Cowher, his coach from 2003 through 2006, and Shell as members of the Class of 2020.
It was an emotional night for Polamalu, but perhaps not as much as the one that will take place Sunday. The support he was shown that night in Canton overwhelmed him.
"It’s honestly hard to talk about it without being emotional," he said. "It meant so much to me, but I didn’t think it would mean that much to me. So, it actually meant more to me."
His former coach Dick LeBeau, Polamalu's defensive coordinator and Hall of Fame presenter knows the feeling. He'll be on hand, as well, Sunday night.
And when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010, many of the Steelers players, including Polamalu, made the trek to Canton to be there. And they were all decked out in vintage No. 44 LeBeau Detroit Lions jerseys.
"It meant everything. I couldn’t look at them," LeBeau said Saturday night. "They were sitting off to the left in the one corner of the end zone. They were all there. I did see 43 (Polamalu) with that Terrible Towel. I had to peek and a little tear dropped out of my eye. You dream about stuff when you’re a little kid playing out in the yard and things of that nature. You never think it’s going to happen. And there were all my guys there in 44s. How do you describe that?"
Polamalu might have an idea, especially after Sunday.
