NFL: Super bro

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu scores a touchdown. Photo / AP

Troy Polamalu is hard to miss. He's the one who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers with the long mane of thick, wavy black hair protruding out of his helmet like some San Francisco hippie who got the wrong address, man.

Clay Matthews is also easy to spot. He's the one who plays for the Green Bay Packers with his long blond tresses tucked under his helmet; hair which he shakes loose like Rapunzel when he takes his lid off - looking like some surfer who caught the wrong wave, dude.

But what else do these guys have in common?

Yeah, yeah, the hair. But they also have megabucks shampoo deals.

Polamalu is the only player in NFL history to have his hair insured by Lloyd's of London (Head & Shoulders shampoo took out a US$1 million policy on him). Matthews has just secured a deal - presumably somewhere in that region - for Unilever's Suave brand.

Both are members of the defensive team in the two Super Bowl combatants.

Polamalu is a 'safety' - a member of the defence team who covers passes from the opposing team and whose interceptions can be the difference between winning and losing.

Matthews is a linebacker - the defence team members who line up as the second line of defence but who also have a strategic function and often a defensive-offensive capability.

Both went to the University of Southern California and both are expected to be key combatants in the keenly-awaited Super Bowl XLV in Dallas tomorrow.

Last month Polamalu was named the AP Defensive Player of the Year after receiving 17 votes, beating out Matthews (who received 15 votes). Polomalu has become one of the better-known non-quarterbacks in the NFL, with his trademark hair and some serious speed and agility on the field.

He has also become a talisman for the Steelers.

They have won six and lost seven of the games Polamalu has missed over the past two seasons. They are 16 wins, four losses for the games in which he has appeared. There are few NFL players who have that kind of impact on a team other than the quarterback; the tactical fulcrum of any American football side.

If you look at the Steelers' win-loss record without quality quaterback Ben Roethlisberger, who will tie the great Tom Brady's total of three Super Bowl rings if Pittsburgh beats Green Bay, the Steelers actually have a winning record (3-2) without Roethlisberger the past two seasons.

The pattern is the same if you look at Roethlisberger's entire career: Pittsburgh has won seven and lost five without him.

The argument is, of course, that the Steelers have more than adequate cover at quarterback but the fact remains: they win more often than not when Polamalu is there; they generally don't when he isn't.

There was also the small fact of four straight weeks when his big plays propelled the Steelers to wins. His strip sack of Joe Flacco in the December nailbiter that won Pittsburgh the AFC North title gave his team a home base for the playoffs.

His swan dive over the Tennessee offensive line to tackle Kerry Collins at the goal line in Pittsburgh's season opener also rates big with Steelers fans.

Of American Samoan descent but born in California, football fans have recognised Polamalu's uncanny intuition, electric speed and decision-making. He has an I-don't-care-about-my personal safety attitude and was once penalised for making too big a hit on an opposing player - even though no such law exists in the NFL.

He keeps offensive teams guessing with his ability to fake them out; making them think he is heading one way before haring off in another. This season, Polamalu was second in the NFL with seven interceptions despite missing two games with an Achilles injury.

All of that makes it sound like a man who would be subject to some ego or vanity.

Earlier this season, after Polamalu fumbled when running back an interception he said, after the game, to a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter: "First and foremost, I want to apologise for that play at the end of the game," Polamalu said.

"It was incredibly arrogant and selfish. I represent something bigger than myself - my faith, my family and this team. I'll try to never let that happen again." In case you were wondering, the Steelers won that match 23-7 over Cincinnati. But, Polamalu was reminded, what about that touchdown he scored on his first interception of the game?

"Let's focus just on the negative," Polamalu answered bleakly. Then he managed a smile. Just a small one.

Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes played four years with Polamalu before going against him twice this season, and had this to say about Polamalu before the AFC title game: 'He's probably the greatest player I've ever played with or even seen in person."

The youngest of five children, his mother, Suila Polamalu, divorced her first husband, Troy's dad, when he was a toddler. She later remarried. Troy grew up in Fountain Valley but got into some trouble and one of his siblings spent time in jail.

The turning point was a family trip to Ten mile, Oregon, in 1989 when Polamalu was eight.

They stayed with an uncle and aunt and their three sons and Troy begged to stay. Faced with a choice between the mean streets of LA and the police and an extended family in Oregon, his mother agreed.

Football became a family thing too. Pacific Islanders in the US are drawn to football as they are to rugby and league in New Zealand and Australia. Football approximates the extended family culture and warrior traditions.

The first Samoan to make an impact on the national football scene was Jack Thompson, star quarterback for Washington State in the 1970s.

Another uncle, Kennedy Polar, became a former running back for the Cleveland Browns.

His cousins were also football players, including Nick Sualua, who played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys.

The hair might be worth a million bucks but it is not always an asset. In 2006, pulling off one of his interceptions against the Chiefs, he seemed destined to score his second career touchdown.

Kansas City running back Larry Johnson caught up to Polamalu and clutched the first thing available - his hair. Johnson yanked him to the ground. The tackle was legal - hair is considered part of the uniform when it sticks out of the helmet. However, Johnson was penalised for what he did next. He pulled Polamalu to his feet by his hair.

A deeply religious man, Polamalu's favourite pastimes include surfing, growing flowers, making furniture and playing the piano. He might be a monster on the field, but off it he is a soft-spoken family man.

He and wife Theodora converted to Orthodox Christianity in 2007 - and he makes the sign of the cross after every play. He seldom gives interviews, but when he does, often speaks of the role his spirituality plays in his life. His children, Paisios and Ephraim, are both named after well-known Greek Orthodox Christian saints.

Clay Matthews has joined Polamalu in an exclusive club: Super Bowl participants with shampoo contracts. Matthews' deal with Suave includes media appearances before and after the Super Bowl and a production day should the company want to film a commercial with him.

Matthews' marketing agent, Ryan Williams of Athletes First, told CNBC: "The idea behind

Suave is that men need different products than women. Clay really wanted to do a deal like this."

Matthews, whose nickname is "Bloodline" (that'll become clear in a minute) also really wants to win the Super Bowl - as he comes from a football family whose dynasty has one large, gaping hole in their coat of arms.

No one in the family has ever won a Super Bowl, in spite of being steeped in NFL history. Matthews' father, Clay Matthews Jr played the third-most games in NFL history (278) over 19 seasons as a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons. Uncle Bruce Matthews was an offensive lineman for 19 years for the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise; considered one of the greatest linemen in NFL history.

Grandfather Clay Matthews, Sr played four seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the 1950s. Younger brother Casey plays linebacker for the University of Oregon Ducks. Cousin Kevin is a center for the Tennessee Titans, and a second cousin, Jake, is the starting right tackle for Texas A&M University.

The only member of the Matthews family to play in a Super Bowl before was uncle Bruce, whose Tennessee Titans lost to St Louis.

"In all honesty, they couldn't have cared less. That didn't determine their career. It doesn't determine people's careers, win or lose, despite what the media says," said Matthews.

"They had great careers for 19 years and the plays they made speak for themselves despite not making a Super Bowl or winning a Super Bowl.

"Hopefully, though, we can pull one off for the whole Matthews family. It'd be really exciting to bring one home.

"Obviously, I was very privileged as a youth to have a father who played in the league and have such a family history and be blessed with all that I have been given in this life," said Matthews.

"But I've had to work to kind of get out of the shadow of my family and I've been doing a good job of that.

"It's a good shadow to be in because they excelled in this league for many years. If I can have half the career they had, I'll be in good company."

The 45th Super Bowl is played out tomorrow afternoon between two of the most traditional of all NFL sides - the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. As befits one of the most statistical of all sports, the Herald on Sunday looks at Super Bowl stats.

This is the first Super Bowl to be held in the Dallas area - and only the third in Texas. Super Bowls VIII and XXXVIII were held in Houston. Miami has hosted 10 games and nine have taken place in New Orleans.

The Packers have only two players with previous Super Bowl experience: defensive lineman Ryan Pickett, who appeared in Super Bowl XXXVI as a St Louis Rams rookie, and cornerback Charles Woodson, who played for Oakland the following year.

Pittsburgh has 25 players with Super Bowl experience, including 11 starters still remaining from Super Bowl XL five years ago. Pittsburgh are competing in their third Super Bowl in the last six years.

Last year's between the Colts and Saints was the most-watched in history - drawing 106.5 million viewers, the most in US television history, breaking the 27-year-old record set by the M*A*S*H series finale.

Super Bowl will pay out US$83,000 to each member of the winning team and US$42,000 per man to the losers. That's the cost (US$2m-3m) of 30-second television advertisements during Super Bowl.

Teams that led at halftime have won 33 Super Bowls with nine losing after leading at the halfway point.

Two games have been tied: XXIII (Cincinnati-San Francisco) and XXXIX (New England- Philadelphia). Green Bay and Pittsburgh produced a total of 73 points when they last met in December 2009, suggesting a high-scoring Super Bowl.

The NFC has won 23 Super Bowls, two more than the AFC. However, the AFC has won nine of the last 13 after the NFC won 13 straight.

The oldest player in Super Bowl history is Indianapolis kicker and ex-Raven Matt Stover (42 years, 11 days)

The youngest is Ravensrunning back Jamal Lewis.

It's marginally better to lose the toss. Teams that win the toss are 20-24 in Super Bowls. Two years ago, Arizona

was the first to defer its choice. NFC teams have won the last 13 tosses in a row.

In 35 of the previous 44 Super Bowls, a win by an NFC teamusually foreshadows a jump in the DowJones Industrial Average, while anAFC win precedes a drop in the stock market. This has been the case in five of the last six games.

The following have never happened in a Super Bowl - scoreless first half, a shut-out, an overtime game and punt return for a touchdown.

Teams that score first have won 28 of the 44 Super Bowls.

... but have lost six of the last nine.

Green Bay and Pittsburgh are two of six NFL teams without cheerleaders - the others are Cleveland, Chicago, the New York Giants and Detroit.

The Vince Lombardi Trophy is made of sterling silver, made by Tiffany. It stands 20.75 inches tall, weighs 107.3 ounces (about seven pounds) and is valued at US$25,000.