Troy Polamalu once spent his summers in a Steelers uniform up in Latrobe. He’s here again, only this time with his sons serving as ballboys. Polamalu is just one of many alumni who show up to see the next generation of Steelers players, a lineage that remains strong to this day. Last week, he discussed what the tradition means to him, and the opportunity to share it with his children.
“This brings back a lot of memories, but it creates new memories as well”, Polamalu said, via the Steelers’ website. “I think it’s a beautiful thing what the Rooney family has done. Starting the tradition with all of their children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews, all of them coming here as ballboys. So, it’s really cool that a lot of former players have had their kids work as ballboys. So, it’s just nice to bring the children back and it’s a huge family”.
The Steelers have traveled to Latrobe every summer for training camp, broken only by the COVID-19 years, since 1966. Their association with Saint Vincent College is the longest in the NFL with any one location, though a recent distinction. Up until COVID, the Packers held the longest association, traveling to St. Norbert since 1958.
The Steelers drafted Troy Polamalu in 2003, and he spent a dozen years with them. That’s a dozen years hitting the road for training camp, building the bonds that forged championship teams. Back then, he recalled, alumni would bring their children to Saint Vincent, having the opportunity to play ballboy. Now he is that alum, and it’s his own children on the field.
Polamalu was one of several former Steelers who visited Latrobe during the first week of training camp. Among the others were Ike Taylor and Joey Porter Jr., as well as Willie Colon and Brett Keisel. To have this rich tradition of the past meeting the present, it’s one that few teams can claim.
One can, of course, question the value of that active lineage. The Steelers have hardly won a playoff game since Troy Polamalu retired, most recently in 2016. This is not the Steelers team of Polamalu’s generation, to be certain. Even he recognized that, and the “dramatic” changes he’s seen. But he’s still looking forward to the upcoming season.
Most any Steelers fan would recognize Polamalu as one of the greatest players in franchise history. The best safety they’ve had since his retirement, Minkah Fitzpatrick, just recently found himself traded, but not without fair compensation.
The secondary now boasts Jalen Ramsey, a potential future Hall of Famer—likely, even. With the Steelers, some beat writers suggest, he will function as the Troy Polamalu of cornerbacks. He’s also likely to play some safety, though. The less easily offenses can discern where he is on the field—or where he’ll be after the snap—the better. And perhaps one day Ramsey will bring his girls to Saint Vincent.
