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.
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