Steelers legend Troy Polamalu delivers most sincere words during Hall of Fame speech

Troy Polamalu will go down as one of the best players in Pittsburgh Steelers history, but his sincere words during his Hall of Fame speech won’t soon be forgotten. 

The man, the myth, the legend himself, Troy Polamalu, was recently officially inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. After all my years of watching and studying the game, I can’t think of a player more deserving of this honor.

The four-time First-Team All-Pro player, 8-time Pro Bowler, and former Defensive Player of the Year award winner embodied everything it meant to be a Pittsburgh Steeler – putting the team’s needs before his own and sacrificing his body for the game he loved.

This was evident on nearly every snap, as Polamalu would selflessly crack heads with a fullback behind the line of scrimmage so one of his teammates could easily clean up with a tackle for a loss. The examples of this type of play from Polamalu are endless.

Recently, the Pittsburgh Steelers legend delivered one of the most heartfelt Hall of Fame speeches I’ve ever heard. Throughout the entire nine minutes and change of his speech, not a signal word seemed forced or scripted and you could tell it was straight from the heart of a player who sincerely loved the game of football. However, the following line from Polamalu’s speech should resonate with players, coaches, and fans the most:

"“To be a Steeler is to consider others before you consider yourself. To protect your brother even from himself. To give support even at your own expense. And when wearing the Black and Gold suit of armor make sure nobody desecrates it, disrespects it. Most important, we ourselves don’t dishonor it. The only approval any Steeler should seek is to earn the approval of previous legends who have donned the Black and Gold. And if you have truly earned their respect, they’ll say, ‘You could have played with us.’”"

Troy Polamalu was everything Steelers could have asked for

I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve gotten goosebumps every time I have watched the video clip of this particular statement or when I’ve seen it written out. Heck, I got chills again just writing this article.

It’s incredibly rare to find a player with as much talent as Troy Polamalu. It’s nearly impossible to find a player of his caliber with such a genuinely humble personality. As scrappy and violent as the strong safety was on the football field at times, even fans from our most hated NFL rivals could respect the player and the person enough to put all of that aside and join us in celebrating Polamalu’s induction into the Hall of Fame speech.

The words mentioned above by one of the most influential players in Pittsburgh Steelers history are words that should be engraved on the locker of every player at Heinz Field.

In today’s greed-driven culture, it’s nice to know that one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL has set such a strong precedent not only to this current Steelers team but to the city of Pittsburgh and for every future team to come.