We’ve been here before…
And while the feeling is the same with the need for a GIF highlight reel for a beloved former Steeler, the circumstances are vastly different. With Jerome Bettis, our collective brain needed rewiring so that Bussie could get the Hall of Fame recognition that he deserved for years. The PSAMP Bettis GIF post was more of a means of telling Hall voters that another Bettis snub would not be acceptable. A “hey, we see you idiots” that happily worked and now The Bus is right where he belongs. That won’t happen with Troy Polamalu.
With his retirement from the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, Polamalu leaves a hole that will never be filled. Not that Bussie was some replaceable scrub, but I don’t see us having a problem getting Troy into the Hall as early as possible. There just wasn’t another Troy Polamalu and there never will be. Sure, the NFL saw several great Safeties during Troy’s career, but the guys in Indy or Baltimore weren’t a ball of hair running around with reckless abandon. For twelve years. We as fans are blessed.
Troy Polamalu is a singular entity. There will never be another. I’ve compiled a whole slew of GIF highlights for the man, so we can all think “oh yeah” at plays we may have forgotten. And I’ll say it now, there is no way I could GIF every splash play Troy has ever made…the guy was just nonstop. But this gives us a way to remember just how good he was. By all means, tell me your favorite Troy moment, let me know huge moments I’ve left off and maybe I’ll add them in after.
And if you missed the barrage of GIFs on Twitter earlier, no worries. You only missed staggering commentary like this:
wheeeeeeeeeeeeee pic.twitter.com/pWGVQuDmD8
— Reese (@psamp) April 10, 2015
GIFs are optimized for Twitter and mobile, so complain about the size or quality at your own risk.
I love you, Troy. All of Steelers nation owes you a massive debt of gratitude. Now let’s enjoy the man one last time after the jump:
Too many sources to cite. Watch Troy Polamalu highlights on Youtube or NFL.com to basically get the idea. I made all the GIFs except the last one which I stole from the Internet.
Thank you for everything, Troy. I mean that with the utmost sincerity and appreciation.
