It is just awesome to see him bouncing around on the field after accomplishing some task, MAKING THE SIGN OF THE CROSS! Now that is a testimony to God. I just wonder who many people he sends searching for what he does - you know that cross he makes
rofl. Maybe, just maybe, they have learned a bit about faith in Christ through this awesome witness of God's love and joy.
Troy Polamalu: Player with a passion for Jesus
archived from: 2006-08-31
by: Gina Mazza Hillier
Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu is not an NFL superstar who happens to be a man of faith. He is a man of faith who happens to be an NFL superstar. Troy is a beloved sports figure in Steelers Nation and beyond — but in his heart, he is simply “a Christian with a passion for Jesus.”
Being the most ebullient defensive player on the Steelers’ roster “is not about football, it’s about life,” Polamalu said. “Football gives me confirmation of how I can carry out my faith. It’s my way to glorify God.”
And while he views his team’s 2006 Super Bowl win as “really beautiful and a blessing,” humility shines through when he adds that “success in football doesn’t matter. Success in anything doesn’t matter. As Mother Teresa said, God calls us not to be successful but to be faithful. My prayer is that I would glorify God no matter what, and not have success be the definition of it. If I can be content whether making a big play or getting a touchdown scored on me, then I’d be happy being faithful and not successful.”
Discussing matters of faith is Polamalu’s rendition of entering the Heinz Red Zone. He lights up when asked about his beliefs, and sprinkles his speech with Scripture to define the relevancy of whatever life puts in front of him. Yet, he maintains that “it’s a matter of how I live, not what I say.” Polamalu’s teammates concur. They note that his gift for inspiring others lies less in what he says than who he is.
“Knowing Troy and how he carries himself, he brings light to the team,” said offensive lineman Alan Faneca. “Everybody respects that.” “He’s definitely one of those guys who lead by example,” said quarterback Charlie Batch. “He’s not a talker when he gets out there, but you see the work he does on the field and produces every Sunday. When you put that combination together, yeah, he’s one of those guys that you’re going to follow ... and he doesn’t take for granted that he’s blessed with incredible speed and instinct.”
Troy exudes a gentle, humble spirit, said Father David Bonnar, pastor of St. Bartholomew in Penn Hills, who has celebrated Mass for 10 years before home games with Steelers players and coaches.
“Since his arrival in Pittsburgh, he has been a permanent fixture at Mass. Even with all of the fame and success, Troy remains committed to the Christian faith,” Father Bonnar said. “And if he has changed in any way, he has just become even more humble and spiritual. I have found him to have both the strong contemplative sense of Mary and the fierce active sense of Martha.”
Troy’s upbringing in a Christian family of Samoan heritage provided an initial base for the belief that serves him so astutely in and out of the huddle. Born in Santa Ana, Calif., the youngest of five children, and raised in Tenmile, Ore., he attended Catholic grade school and was steeped in the Polynesian culture of reverence for family, church and personal honor.
His childhood was not absent of struggle, however; Polamalu’s constant lifeline was prayer. He returned to California in 1999 as a freshman for the University of Southern California Trojans and, on graduation, was drafted by the Steelers.
In person, he is serene, polite, contemplative — a far pass from his on-field image as one of the league’s most maniacal players. While some people speculate about his “split personality,” he explains that it’s two sides of the same Troy.
“I believe that I’m the same person on and off the field. I live my life with a passion and that includes how I play. Obviously, football calls for physical contact, but that’s just part of the game.”
To illustrate, he offers Jesus’ time on earth as an example.
“Look at the passion for life that he lived as portrayed in the Stations of the Cross — that fight that he had in him, as well as the love he shared with others. There’s no difference.”
Indeed, what sets Troy apart is his knack for keeping love at the center of his sport.
“Football, in general, has it backwards,” he said. “They think this inner anger, this hatred, is what drives football and becomes the physical aspect of the game. But love overcomes all things. My love to glorify God through my playing will far outweigh anybody’s hate for me.”
Like all of us, Troy has times of vulnerability and doubt — which is, in part, why he makes the sign of the cross before or after some plays. “I’m asking for God’s support in those moments — and in everything I do.”
Referring to Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews, Troy defines faith — particularly when we fumble in life — in a word: surrender. “It’s knowing in your heart that God will take care of you — which might mean going head-over-heels into a situation having 1 percent for you and 99 percent against you. We all have to struggle to overcome our adversities, no matter how long we’re in the desert.”
One such time was during his second year in the NFL. Coming off his previous rookie year in 2003 as the Steelers’ 16th draft pick — hardly playing, and not playing well when he did — he was miserable.
“I really questioned my life and my manhood. ... That second year, I played against my college roommate, Carson Palmer (quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals), in the third game of the season. They were getting ready to score. I had the ball in my hand and dropped it with 80 yards to go and no one in front of me. I thought, ‘man, there went my chance to make everybody happy, to get all these doubters off of me.’ I was so angry and frustrated that I started crying on the sidelines. I sat there with my head in my hands, crying as I was praying. Then I heard a song blaring from the public-address system: Los Lonely Boys singing, ‘Lord, take me from this prison, I want to get away.’”
Something shifted.
“Just like that, I felt everything was going to be great.”
Later in that game, Troy intercepted a pass from Palmer and ran 26 yards for a touchdown with little more than two minutes left in the game. “You better believe I was on the ground, saying, ‘Thank you, God, thank you!’ That’s one of the many ways he has revealed himself to me.”
This and other instances of divine intervention have given Troy confirmation of God’s presence in his life. One experience that sticks with him most vividly is when he and his wife, Theodora, attended Mass in the basilica on the campus of St. Vincent College before the start of his first-ever training camp. As they knelt before the altar and felt inclined to touch their foreheads on its cool, emerald-marble floor, Troy glanced upward to connect with the crucifix hanging overhead.
“Man, it was so beautiful, so powerful,” he said. “Church was just emptying out. We sat silently in a pew. A few moments passed. We looked up. Light was shining through the stained-glass window right on us — and ONLY on us. Sitting there with Theodora in that stream of sunlight, I just burst into tears, I was so overcome.”
This, from an NFL star who has his A-game going on. Twice being named to the Pro Bowl and winning Super Bowl XL didn’t elicit such deep emotion. Knowing Troy and his devotion to Jesus, one gets the impression that nothing ever will.
http://www.pittsburghcatholic.org/newsarticles_more.phtml?id=1746
