Steelers' Legendary Safety Troy Polamalu Has Been Helping Their Week 1 Opponent's All-Pro Defensive Back Since High School

Everyone is excited for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They face off in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers in what is expected to be a great battle. Both teams have such a rich history in the NFL with a combined total of 11 Super Bowls between the both of them. They have also brought some legends to the game of football like Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Jerry Rice, Franco Harris, and plenty more. While helping form the NFL into what it is today, both organizations have also been able to make the league more diverse. One of the communities that they have brought in with open arms are the Polynesian people.

A Legacy With The Steelers Organization

Two guys who have made an impact from the Polynesian community are the great Troy Polamalu and All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga. Both have played safety in the NFL and have dominated the position. Polamalu is considered to be one of, if not the greatest safety to ever play football, while some are saying that Hufanga is the next Polamalu.

Polamalu was a once-in-a-generation player that the entire fan base in Pittsburgh fell in love with. During his time in the NFL, he was a two-time Super Bowl champion, eight-time Pro Bowler, 2010 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award winner, and left a legacy with the Steelers organization. Hufanga has become a monster of a player as well at just the age of 23. He was a First Team All-Pro last season, and also made the Pro Bowl. In college, he was the Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year Award winner, Polynesian Football Player of the Year Award winner, and a consensus All-American. 

Hufanga and Polamalu may be Polynesian safeties who played dominant football at USC, but their relationship is closer than people may think. On former superstar cornerback Richard Sherman's podcast, Hufanga described his relationship with Polamalu. He said that during his senior year of high school, he met Vai Sikahema, who was one of the first-ever Tongans to play in the NFL. He introduced him to Polamalu. He then said how the first thing that Polamalu made him do was work on his character.

"He's [Polamalu] telling me there is no need to work on being a safety, we need to work on your character first. So, then we sat down and came up with a list of things to do while I was like dang, I just want to play football."

Polamalu has not only been a great influence on the game of football, but also helped Hufanga get to where he is today. He described how it would have been stupid if he hadn't taken the advice that he gave him. 

"To listen to a guy that did it at the highest level and was a Hall of Famer, I was like, I have to listen to him. He's done so many things for this game and to change the game. He's such a great person that it would have been stupid of me not to listen."

It would be really cool to see this relationship that these two have made continue to grow. Many Steelers fans miss seeing number 43 on the field during games, so having someone with that same skill set is fun to watch. The Steelers may have Minkah Fitzpatrick on their team, but it would be fun to see Hufanga in the black and gold.

So, what do you think, Steeler Nation? Will Hufanga live up to the potential that Polamalu has given him? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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