Troy Polamalu wipes tears with Terrible Towel while recalling Hall of Fame speech

PITTSBURGH — Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, who received his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring on Sunday, became emotional while reflecting on his Hall of Fame speech.

Using a Terrible Towel to wipe his tears, Polamalu spoke about working with his wife on the speech, which he called “a beautiful dedication of my career.”

“I’ve had such great feedback about the speech, but I could never claim it as my own because my wife and I did it together,” Polamalu said, according to Channel 11′s news exchange partners at TribLIVE. “I can only get so far. With my wife and I, together it brings everything to fruition. I can never claim something like that as my own. My wife was such a big part of my speech.”

Polamalu received his ring -- along with fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Bill Cowher, Alan Faneca and Donnie Shell -- during a halftime ceremony at Sunday’s Steelers-Seahawks game at Heinz Field. The late Bill Nunn’s ring was accepted by his granddaughter.

In another memorable moment from Sunday, Polamalu got a Seattle Seahawks fan to trade in his jersey for a Terrible Towel. The Steelers shared a video of it on Twitter.

A look at Troy Polamalu's career

©2021 Cox Media Group