Fautanu feels 'personal' connection with Steelers after growing up a fan

"It all started with Troy Polamalu. I was a big Troy Polamalu fan and then watching him and you get to see what the Steelers are about," Fautanu said in his introductory press conference. "How they play football, what their brand of football is, and then I just took that and put it in my own game. You know what I mean? What I think of when I think of the Steelers, I think of gritty, I think of working the trenches. Just stuff that you don't see but I take personal because it's part of my job. It's an awesome organization. I'm just so happy to be a part of it."

When he got the call from Tomlin that he was set to become a Steeler, the first person Fautanu hugged was his mother's mother, Maluapapa Fautanu. The second person he turned to hug was his father's mother, Amelia Fautanu. Hours later, the player, the parents and the sibling were on a red-eye flight from Nevada to Pittsburgh.

The Steelers know a lot about family business. Fautanu's family is his business.

"I'm fortunate enough, I still have those two strong women in my life," Fautanu said. "That's my mom's mom and my dad's mom. The first woman I hugged was my mom's mom. The second person I hugged was my dad's mom. Then I went over to my parents because without them, without their sacrifice I wouldn't be here. And then I went and hugged my sister and my girlfriend. Those people, being able to share that moment with them -- because they've done so much to get me to this point. Hats off to them for believing in me from a young age. I'm just happy to be able to be in a position to help them, repay that."

Fautanu will have every chance to do that right away, as he is projected to anchor a tackle spot with 2023 first-rounder Broderick Jones manning the opposite side. That will play out over the coming months on the South Side and during training camp in Latrobe. 

All of this weekend's pomp and circumstance associated with the rolling out of the black-and-gold carpet has brought out what is really important to Fautanu. This professional football player, in his words, still has a "little kid" in him that is still a fan of the sport.

Though he played at the Power Five level and was on a national championship contender, Fautanu admitted he still gets star struck for things like this. He grew up watching Isaac Seumalo play, and he was taken back when Seumalo told him during his first visit to the South Side that he got to watch Fautanu play in college. The phone call he received from fellow tackle Dan Moore Jr. Thursday night and another from quarterback Russell Wilson on his red-eye flight were surreal experiences for him.

"It's crazy to me still, you know what I mean?" Fautanu said. "I'm just really excited to learn from those guys because a lot of those guys have been around the league for a really long time, and I'm just trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can."

Fautanu said his earliest memory of the Steelers came when he was seven years old. Specifically, it was the Steelers' loss to the Patriots on December 9, 2007. He couldn't recall anything specific about the game, but he noted it was a vivid experience that's etched in his mind.

That personal connection he built with the Steelers over long distance came to him as a "little kid." He embodied the Steelers' culture on and off the field over those 16 years, and in about 135 days when the Steelers kick off their first game of the 2024 season, he will be a piece of that culture that is looking to return to prominence.

On a Thursday evening in late-April, though, his inspiration and dreams became his realities. He gets to do it all for the organization he worked to embody.

"Just the grit that the team plays with," Fautanu said. "I grew up a really big fan of Ben Roethlisberger and that's what I've always seen him do. He's out there commanding the team and commanding that offense and I always thought he was one of the toughest guys I've ever seen play. He'd get hit and get right back up. That inspired me to play the way that I do. Hats off, man. Coach Tomlin has done a really great job and I'm just so happy to be under him and learn from him."