Mad Monday: Troy Polamalu’s Hall of Fame Speech was as much praise for the ‘Steeler Way’ as it praised it

Troy Polamalu’s Hall of Fame induction speech on Saturday was the kind of thing that raised black and gold goosebumps on the skin of Steelers fans.

It brought up memories of Jack Lambert’s speech when he was inducted in 1990.

“If I could start my life over again, I would be a professional footballer. And you better believe I would be a Pittsburgh Steeler, ”Lambert said in Canton, Ohio.

Polamalu hit many of the same notes.

“To be a Steeler is to consider others before considering yourself. To protect your very brother from himself. To provide support even at your own expense. And when wearing the black and gold armor, make sure that no one desecrates it, respects it. Most importantly, we don’t dishonor him ourselves. The only endorsement any Steeler should be looking for is getting the endorsement of previous Legends who donned the Black and Gold. And if you’ve really earned their respect, they’ll say, “You could have played with us. “

My god, you can just hear the “Renegade” echoing beneath every word. All over western Pennsylvania people are replaying this on YouTube. They are the Kool-Aid man and are walking through walls in their # 43 jerseys right now.

During this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, 105.9 The X and TribLIVE’s Mark Madden admitted that he was also a huge fan of Polamalu’s speech. But that left him a little torn as it juxtaposed the former All-Pro’s words with the current state of the franchise itself.

“When Troy talked about the Steeler way and the Steeler culture, I thought about the way things are now and it sounded a lot like a eulogy to me,” Madden said.

Between the antics of Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, the constant hype from Devin Bush, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool, and the lack of playoff wins over the past four years, you can get the point of view from Madden.

“I can only relate what (Polamalu) said on my show during his exit interview when he retired,” recalls Madden. “I entered the locker room (as a rookie). I looked around and saw men. Now all I see are little boys.

There’s so much going on in training camp that Madden isn’t thrilled either. Specifically, which is now clearly a passive holdout of TJ Watt.

The star outside linebacker is with the team during practices. But he does not participate. And recently, Keith Butler admitted that the reason Watt was doing this was to protect himself so he didn’t get hurt before he got a big contract extension.

“He’s an irritable, whiny little fraudster in many ways,” Madden said. “He’s a guy who’s never had a sack in a playoff game. He’s a guy who sits in the fourth quarter when the game is still in play because he’s tired. If you think for a minute that he’s just going to take what he’s given if it’s not what he wants, and everything will be okay, then you haven’t been paying attention to the Watt brothers. The Watt family will retire with a lot of money, a lot of metro and no bells. “

Also on the podcast, we touch on the trade demand reported by Steelers wide receiver James Washington, Kevin Dotson’s place on the offensive line depth chart, and any progress from last year that Madden may have seen – or did not see – in the Hall of Fame game.

We also discuss the end of the Olympics, pirate struggles, and puzzles over buying lakeside retirement property.

Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden discuss Troy Polamalu’s Hall of Fame speech and the state of the Steelers, Pirates and the Olympics