Steelers Legendary Safety Troy Polamalu Discusses His Revived Attachment To The City Of Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most loved organizations in all of professional sports, and that is mostly do to them being one of the most successful franchises in NFL history. They are tied for the most Super Bowl victories, and have the sixth most Hall of Famers out of all the league's organizations. Steelers players from every time period are idolized, including Troy Polamalu, who played for Pittsburgh from 2003, through the 2014 season, and just started getting involved in the Steel City.

Polamalu seemed to have vanished from Pittsburgh shortly after his playing career came to an end, but recently, he has started to make more public appearances and has seemed to get more involved within the community. Polamalu and his wife have gotten involved with the Neighborhood Resilience Project, a non-profit organization that attempts to improve trauma effected communities in the Pittsburgh area. He was interviewed by Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at a recent event for the Neighborhood Resilience Project, and he was asked about his sudden return to Western Pennsylvania.

"Um honestly, I don't know. It's a compelling obligation, that's why it's hard. I'd rather not do much publicly, but that's what is so hard about it. What's really important is the resilience, carried out, it looks like independence."

During the interview, Polamalu's wife, Theodora, called him an introvert, which would understandably make these public events difficult for the Hall of Famer. Ultimately, the events support a good cause, which is exactly why Polamalu considers them a compelling obligation and why he feels the need to get back in public. 

Polamalu's career with the Steelers didn't end on the best terms. He struggled with injuries during his final seasons, and he reportedly wanted to come back for the 2015 season, but Pittsburgh allegedly forced him into retirement. He was essentially given the choice of retiring, or get released. Being treated that way by the organization he gave 11 years of his life to must have been hard to swallow, and it certainly delayed his return to the public eye in Pittsburgh. Despite the rocky finish to his career however, his wife spoke glowingly about the Steelers and their rich history of giving back to the community.

"You also have so many examples of what that looks like with Joe Greene and Franco Harris. His predecessors really paved the way for what the Steelers' standard is when it comes to the community."

The Steelers organization has always given back to the community, with many players emphasizing the importance of humanitarian work. Cam Heyward recently won the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for the work he does through his foundation, and he is the most recent example of a Steeler giving back to the community. 

Steelers' Polamalu Has Been Gradually Pushing Himself Further Into The Public Eye

Polamalu was in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII, and participated in many interviews on Radio Row. This is great to see, as he seemingly went into hiding after his retirement as mentioned above. Fans didn't see much of him from when he retired until he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020. 

Polamalu has also begun to be more comfortable talking about the current state of the Steelers as well. He has often voiced his opinion on different roster moves made by Pittsburgh, and his general ideas about the team as it stands today. Hopefully, this is just the start of Polamalu getting more involved in Pittsburgh and in the public eye in general. He was one of the most exciting players in the NFL during his career, and hearing his thoughts about the NFL today would be interesting, and seeing his humanitarian work is inspiring.

What do you think about Polamalu getting more involved in the community? Let us know in the comments below!

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