Beyond The Hardwood: Troy Polamalu

It's fitting the athlete to be featured first in Beyond the Hardwood would be one of the most unique athletes on the planet. For as quiet and humble as he is in his everyday life, he is equally vicious and aggressive while on the field of play. In a sport filled with talented and outspoken athletes whose livelihood seems to thrive on their bravado, NFL safety Troy Polamalu separates himself, choosing to quietly go about his work.

He seems to shy away from the spotlight, choosing to acknowledge team over self. Yet if you let his teammates tell it, he is their MVP, the heart and soul of their team. Polamalu is a quiet leader, who lets his actions speak for him. You'll never see him running his mouth a mile a minute on Sportscenter about how he is going to punish the other team this week or how he's come to pound them into the ground. Never will you see him exit the team tunnel enveloped in smoke, fireworks crisscrossing above his head in the backdrop as he does some dance that's supposed to symbolize his Samoan warrior spirit. No, he conserves that energy, uses it for when it matters, puts it where it counts.

He places value on his family both on and off the field, investing time in the development of both. He represents his heritage, friends, team and family with a quiet, soft-spoken intensity and integrity that seems to invite you in, portraying love and caring above all else to the point that the public almost sees him as strange, unique, even perplexing. How can one of football's most decorated players -- six Pro Bowls, two-time first team All-Pro selections, second team All-Pro selection, team MVP and two-time Super Bowl champion -- be so humble? How can a guy so aggressive, resilient, intense, relentless and passionate on the field of play just turn it off when he steps off?

The answer to the question is he doesn't. None of those qualities changes off the field. In fact, it could be said those qualities were in place long before football, before USC, before the Steelers. Those were the qualities he had as a young man, and he learned how to focus them on the things he loved: his faith, family, friends, education and, of course, football. The only thing that changes while on or off the field is where he focuses those qualities.

So when a man like this devotes himself to something outside the world of sports, when he dedicates his time and voice to a cause, you take notice. You perk up your ears, focus your eyes on what he is doing and listen. Because when it comes to Troy Polamalu, what you see and hear is what you get. No strings, no bullshit, no self-serving agenda. You know on the occasions that he speaks out, you should listen because it's important because his words have value.

Well, now is one of those times to perk up and listen. Take an interest in more than what so-and-so is wearing or tweeting about their personal life. Actually, check that, that's exactly what you should do. You should check out what Troy is tweeting about. If you visit his Twitter profile @tpolamalu you'll find hundreds of tweets referencing TwitChange.

What is TwitChange? And why is a guy who begrudgingly got a Twitter account tweeting so much about it? Well, TwitChange is a global celebrity auction where Twitter users can bid to get two things: be followed by their favorite celebrity on Twitter or mentioned by them in a special tweet, plus retweeted by them.

 

                        

 

The real fun of the program is left up to you, the fan, the non-celebrity tweeter. First, make sure you are following @tpolamalu and @TwitChange on Twitter. Then, go to www.TwitChange.com. From there, you will be able to tweet to your favorite celebrities and ask them to get involved (over and over if you must) with the auction. It's very simple, something you can do while listening to music and working on you computer. It really only take minutes to send out invites to your favorite celebs. What if your favorite celebrity isn't on the TwitChange list? Feel free to cut and paste their Twitter handle into the TwitChange invitation and send away. Once you've done that, just take the time to pay attention to the timelines of Troy or TwitChange to see if your celebrity signed up. It's that easy, and you, the user, has all the power to make the difference.

Now for the best part. Your work, and anything you bid in the auction, will go toward OOIAL -- Operation Once In A Lifetime. Started by a soldier, OOIAL is a non-profit organization who has made it their mission "to make the dreams of U.S. soldiers and their families come true by providing free financial and moral support to U.S. service members, their families and veterans regardless of rank, deployment, physical condition or branch or service," according to their Web site.

It's a wonderful chance for you to make a difference by doing something you more than likely do everyday, tweet. It's for an amazing cause and you couldn't have a more impressive, humble and trustworthy person leading the charge in Troy Polamalu. It's a cause that goes beyond favorite teams and players on the field, and to our favorite human beings and heroes, our U.S. servicemen. I implore you to take those few minutes in a day, get involved, send some invitations, spread the word and do something that extends beyond the field of play. Take this wonderful opportunity to go Beyond the Hardwood.

Beyond The Hardwood

For most of us reading or writing this, sports is life. It means more to us than just throwing a ball down a field, shooting a ball into a basket, or juggling a ball with our feet. 

For us, sports is integral to everything we do. We schedule our lives around our teams, take every opportunity we have to talk about it and we will play them until our body won't allow us to go anymore. We give ourselves to the sport unconditionally for what it will give us in return. 

It taught us how to win humbly, but even more importantly, lose graciously. It taught us strength, heart, conviction, will power, values, work ethic and purpose, all qualities we get from sports to carry into our everyday lives. Qualities we share with others who may not have had our opportunities and experiences, as well as those who have. We get to use those qualities to make a difference with our friends and communities, and help them grow and advance in positive ways. 

A select few get the opportunity to showcase these qualities on a bigger stage, passing on lessons learned from a lifetime of sports to not only their neighborhood or community, but to a nation, and in some cases, the world. They have the unique ability to use their talents for good, and when they do, it's a beautiful thing. 

It's easy for us to lose sight of the good these few athletes do. We get caught up in the money they make, cars and clothes they buy, women they marry, and even how a select few disrespect the gifts they have been given. We have a tendency to get caught up in our own fandom, so much so that we can be blinded to the positives that come from so many players. 

We always find a way to scold the spoiled and egocentric athlete, but we forget to honor, cherish and, most importantly, support the humble athletes who dedicate themselves to philanthropy on behalf of sports. Not because their agent told them to or because they are in trouble and want to clean up their image. They do it simply because it's what they believe in, what's close to their heart, what their parents and role models have taught and inspired them to do over the years. They do it because sports has taught them if they give themselves and devote themselves to a goal, they will be rewarded.

It is these athletes I want to recognize here in a new section called Beyond The Hardwood. I want to draw attention to their cause, help them fight their fight by informing you, the people who embrace sports and it's athletes so vigorously, of what these athletes in various sports are trying to do. 

Let's begin this journey off the hardwood floors and grassy fields, and into the arena of everyday life. Let's do our best to help our teammates in this arena. Give them support, pick them up when they fall, congratulate them when they win, console them when they lose. Let's take advantage of the media tools at our disposal to stand beside our favorite athletes and assist them in helping not only our planet, nations and cities, but also our communities, friends and families. So without further ado, let's step Beyond The Hardwood....