The Day I (luckily didn't literally) Ran into Troy Polamalu

I think "sport's team loyalty" is a very strange thing. Rarely do you meet someone who likes the Bangles just because - no - you meet people from Cincinnati who grew up watching the Bangles, their grandfather loved the Bangles, and so - they LOVE the Bangles.

Myself, having grown up in NH, would say I'm a Red Sox and Patriot's fan. Further proving the point above, my dad didn't really watch hockey or basketball - so I couldn't care less about the Bruins or the Celtics. Now, when I say I'm a "fan" of the Red Sox and Patriots - I mean, that if I had to cheer for someone, I would cheer for them - it does not mean that I know a single player on either team.

Living in Pittsburgh is a whole different "ball game." Every.single.person is a FANATIC Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates fan. If you accidentally wear black and yellow - you magically have friends at the grocery store; every stranger you meet automatically starts talking about the game last weekend, assuming you want to discuss it as well; and best of all, you can grocery shop in 20 minutes or less if you go during a "Stillers" game, you and the annoyed cashier are the only people there.

So basically, I don't really care about sports, and definitely don't care about Pittsburgh sports. So - when picking out apples at the grocery store the other day, I was a little taken-a-back when I thought I saw Troy Polamalu. My 8.5 months pregnant self was just testing the apples for soft spots, when he walks by pushing 2 little boys in a racecar shopping cart, and he says to me, "Looks like this is your future (pointing to his cart). Get ready, it is a fun ride!" To which I laughed and said to myself, "I've seen that boy on TV."

I quickly ran over to get Josh and said, "Doesn't that boy play for the Steelers?" right as he was rounding the corner. Josh didn't get a good look at him.

A few isles later, we again saw the mystery man, so I made Josh go down to get a better look. Right as we were passing him, he says, "So, I didn't ask - are you having a boy or a girl?" Now blocking the entire isle, we are standing face to face with Troy Polamalu, discussing Ella's name (which he thinks is "just beautiful"), his wife's deliveries, and his wish for us to have a pain free delivery.

After about 5 minutes we went on our way, only to have him bombarded by people asking him to autograph cereal boxes. I have to say, I was extremely impressed with him. He was so kind to everyone that talked to him - he never once got annoyed.  We even saw him get stopped 2 times while putting away his shopping cart.

I'm confident I'll ever be a Steelers fan, but I'm officially a Troy Polamalu fan.

P.S. - In my defense - his hair was in a bun, so his signature feature wasn't a key giveaway to his identity.