Troy has insisted he plans on playing some running back, too; however, there was one problem that arose during our interview.

"I'm pretty nervous," Polamalu admitted. "I still have to get out there and run. I can't pull a muscle on the first play!"

Here's thinking Troy will find a way to make it through and disrupt a play or two. If nothing else, maybe he could ask his older son, Paisios — who recently transitioned into tackle football from the flag variety back home in San Diego — for advice.

Troy and Theodora did not want Paisios to play tackle football until he was a freshman but eventually relented, allowing him to transfer to St. Augustine High.

"Seven-on-seven is great, as long as it doesn't take them away from other sports," Troy said. "I think it's really important for kids to play every sport, especially before they get to high school."

Youth athletics has been another culture shock for Troy and Theodora as their boys (younger son Ephraim) get older and compete in various leagues. Having their kids here, the Polamalus only really knew the Pittsburgh way of doing things.

"In California, it's all in on one sport," Troy said. "When we moved back to California, we were like, 'Man, you're not only all in on this, you're home-schooling your kid and getting private chefs!' That's not what we learned in Pittsburgh."

Troy's unabashed honesty popped up again during our chat when I asked whether charity work like the Resilience Bowl might be part of his second chapter, his post-playing impact.

Not really, he said politely. It's just a good cause and the Polamalus wanted to support it, the same type of organic way of doing things or compelling obligation that long ago endeared Troy and Theodora to their adopted city.

"It's not our goal every day to go out there and be humanitarians," Troy said. "Sometimes when it's on a much bigger scale, it becomes a lot less intimate and not really the way that we like to give back."

"We continue to receive so much love and support from the many years we lived here," Theodora added. "It makes sense organically to come back and be a part of the fabric of different things that are going on here."

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