Finally Home: How Pittsburgh Won Over Troy Polamalu (great article)

This article/interview is from Pittsburgh Magazine.  It's a great article on Troy, and definitely worth reading it in its' entirety.  He's a pretty awesome guy if I must say so myself.

Troy Polamalu’s first trip to Pittsburgh didn’t reveal a city that resembled “hell with the lid taken off,” as James Parton put it in 1868. Still, the California-born safety did not immediately perceive western Pennsylvania to be the kind of place he wanted to stay for long. “I think I arrived at 11 at night,” Polamalu says, recalling his pre-draft visit in March 2003 to be checked out by the Pittsburgh Steelers. “I get to the Hilton and I call my agent and I [say], ‘I don’t want to play here in Pittsburgh, I already know.’ It was dark, and it was rainy, and it was cold. It just seemed like a miserable Northwestern — Seattle or Oregon — kind of day. [So] I call [my agent] and I tell him, ‘There’s no way I want to come to Pittsburgh.’”

On draft day, Polamalu says, “I got this phone call from the 412 area code. And I was a little disappointed — because I was like, ‘This is not a California area code.’” Years later, the town — occasionally as dark, cold and rainy as Polamalu portrayed it — now is home for him, for his wife Theodora (another transplanted Californian) and especially for their sons, Paisios and Ephraim — and the boys’ father wouldn’t have it any other way. “They’re native-born yinzers, and they’re gonna be raised [that way],” Polamalu declares. “It’s going to be something that I’m very proud to say will always be in their blood.” For Polamalu, 33, what once was unimaginable has become the inevitable. He’s come a long way since that initial visit to Pittsburgh — far enough that he now envisions hanging around the town he once wanted no part of long after his playing days with the Steelers have ended. While many have speculated that 2014 may be his final season, at this writing Polamalu hasn’t disclosed his plans for next season. Still, with the possibility of a final snap drawing near, the soft-spoken athlete is ready to impart wisdom to a new generation of players and reflect on his position as part of the fabric of Pittsburgh

- See more at: http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Pittsburgh-Magazine/December-2014/Finally-Home-How-Pittsburgh-Won-over-Troy-Polamalu/

Good stuff. He will always be a big part of the Steelers even after he retires. He is a rare find both as a player and a man.First class all the way!!

great article, i am going to hate to see him retire.

Fantastic article. I particularly liked a few quotes from Shamarko:

Quote :

“I’ll say nobody’s perfect — but he’s close to perfect. I can say that from the bottom of my heart. Not just because he’s Troy, just because that’s who he is. He’s one of the most humble men I’ve ever met in my life. He does everything right with his kids, his family and his sport. And he works really hard. He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met in my life.”

Quote :

“I was a little immature. You feel like you’re a young guy in the NFL, you’re around a lot of things. He just brought me to myself. He made me realize what’s more important than football at the end of the day. Coach [Mike] Tomlin tells us, ‘You’re football players, but you’re more than that.’ Troy just broke it down for me. I had an amazing talk with him. He helped me in my situation in life.”

What I've always loved about Troy is that he's great both on the field and off the field. If Shamarko can be half the player and half the man that Troy is, he'll be just fine.