Growing up in Charlotte, N.C., Cedric Gray had plenty of opportunities to latch onto the Carolina Panthers as his favorite football team.
But a fierce, dynamic player in Western Pennsylvania with flowing locks out of the back of his helmet, one who was known for making game-changing plays, drew his attention.
That would be former Steelers star safety and Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu.
Watching Polamalu play made Gray a fan of not only the “Tasmanian Devil,” but the Steelers as well, so much so that he got a tattoo depicting Polamalu on his left arm (along with one featuring the numbers 9 and 10 of the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants for quarterbacks Tony Romo and Eli Manning, respectively, which honors his brothers’ fandom).