Commercial success not part of Polamalu's world
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Coming soon to a television near you ...
A Troy Polamalu commercial for Nike.
You gotta see it to believe it.
"I was pretty much forced into doing it," Polamalu said the other day at Steelers minicamp, his voice barely more than a whisper.
That's Polamalu away from football: shy, almost timid, the last guy in the world you would figure for an All-Pro.
You see him making fabulous plays all over the field and taking the occasional personal foul or unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he momentarily loses his mind and control of his emotions.
But off the field?
Just say he's a very reluctant football hero.
Ben Roethlisberger has capitalized on his fame from Super Bowl XL and turned it into a small fortune. Hines Ward. Jerome Bettis. Joey Porter. So many of the others.
Polamalu could be bigger than all of 'em except for Big Ben -- quarterbacks, you understand -- for a couple of reasons. One, he has a distinctive look with that long, flowing black hair. You know it's him when you see him. And two, he might be the most unique talent in the NFL.
Remember how Lawrence Taylor redefined the outside linebacker position? Polamalu is doing it for safeties.
And all he has done since the Super Bowl is one Nike shoot?
After his agent, Marvin Demoff, twisted his arm?
"I don't like prestige," Polamalu said. "I could go off and live in the mountains and raise my family."
You laugh.
Polamalu is serious.
He must drive Demoff crazy.
"People can define themselves in different ways," Polamalu said. "I don't define my life by winning a Super Bowl. I'm not saying it's not important. It is because it's a blessing. It just doesn't define who I am as a person. My faith does that."
It has been a long time since Pittsburgh has had an athlete like this. Jeff King is the last one who comes to mind. The Pirates made him the No. 1 overall selection in the 1986 draft and he went on to have a fine career. But he never was comfortable in the spotlight. He had a hard time with the media scrutiny and the fan adulation. He was almost painfully shy.
Today, King lives about as far from civilization as possible, on a cattle ranch in western Montana.
Maybe Polamalu will be his neighbor one day.
It's funny, there has been an e-mail going around about Polamalu buying dinner for everybody at a local restaurant. You probably received it. Everybody else has. Anyway, the story goes, Polamalu was so grateful that the dinner patrons allowed him and his wife to enjoy their meal in peace that he stood up afterward, called for everyone's attention, thanked them for their courtesy, picked up all the checks and signed autographs to boot.
It's a wonderful tale.
Too bad it isn't true.
Polamalu has been known to pick up a check or two -- even for strangers -- but always right before he quietly sneaks out the door without the lucky party knowing about it. It's hard to imagine him standing in front of a group and calling attention to himself.
"Oh, my, no," he said, quietly again. "That didn't happen."
Polamalu said he doesn't go out in public much because he's uncomfortable with the attention. It's not as if he can sneak out and go unnoticed. Not even the scruffy full beard he has grown since the Super Bowl can disguise him. That long hair, tied back in a ponytail except during games when it flows freely in the wind, is a dead giveaway.
"People are always so nice and I appreciate it," Polamalu said. "But I would prefer it to be genuine, not someone just shaking your hand and telling you that you're a good football player."
Actually, they tell Polamalu he's a great football player, which makes him squirm even more.
It's true, though. There's not another player like Polamalu in the NFL. No one else can hit like a linebacker and cover like a cornerback.
The Steelers' defense was successful last season because coordinator Dick LeBeau used Polamalu in so many different ways. Opponents never knew where he was going to be or what he was going to do. You saw his pass-rush ability when he tied an NFL record for a safety with three sacks at Houston. You saw his coverage skills in the Indianapolis playoff game with his controversial interception that was, then wasn't and, as the embarrassed league office admitted afterward, should have been. You saw his toughness in the Denver playoff game when he blew through a block by tackle Cooper Carlisle to make a flying tackle on running back Tatum Bell after a 9-yard gain on a third-and-10 play. And you saw his amazing closing speed in that Denver game when he covered about 10 yards in the blink of an eye to blow up a screen pass and tackle back Mike Anderson for a 2-yard loss.
It's going to be fun to see what Nike does with that extraordinary package.
Well, fun for all of us.
Not for Polamalu.
(Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1525. )
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