Friday, October 19, 2001
IN THE BACK of the bus. That's where the aggressive school kids sit. Fu is running
after ‘The Bus’By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comAnd Hawaii's Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala sits in back of "The Bus" -- more specifically, he's in back of Jerome Bettis, a k a "The Bus," on the Pittsburgh Steelers depth chart.
While Bettis recently became the 14th player in NFL history to rush for more than 10,000 yards, Fuamatu-Ma'afala waits for the opportunity to be a starting running back.
But there is absolutely no animosity between the two.
"Jerome?" Fuamatu-Ma'afala said when asked about their relationship. "Jerome is the coolest. He's the coolest dude you'd ever want to meet."
The two players are similar in stature (Bettis is 5-foot-11 and 255 pounds and Fuamatu-Ma'afala is 6 feet, 255) and they fit right into the Steelers' power-running offensive philosophy.
There are those who believe Fuamatu-Ma'afala, a former St. Louis School and University of Utah standout, could be a top starting running back in the NFL if given a chance.
And Steelers' teammate Kimo von Oelhoffen, another Hawaii boy and an eight-year NFL defensive lineman, is one of those who believes in "Fu."
"Fu is a good football player," von Oelhoffen said. "He practices hard and he's one of the best special teams players out there. His day (as a starter) will come. Injuries have kept him from being one of the feature backs in the NFL."
A fractured foot kept Fu, who's in his fourth season, out of action for more than half of last season.
In limited action since breaking into the NFL in 1998, he has gained 205 yards rushing on 30 carries, an average of 6.8 yards per carry. He has also caught 23 passes for 200 yards, scored five touchdowns and made numerous special teams tackles.
"My strengths are my awareness and my quickness," Fuamatu-Ma'afala, 24, said. "I'm not the best student of the game, but I pretty much know my assignments inside and out, and that allows me to go out and play the game instead of going out there wondering what I'm supposed to be doing.
"There's a lot of guys (on other teams) who see a guy 255 pounds and say 'He's not going to run by me,' but that's when I get past them."
As the years have gone by, Fu has become more in tune with the ebbs and flows of the game.
"When I was younger, I was always pumped up, sometimes for no reason. Of course, I was excited about the game, but I was using up energy instead of saving it for the right times, and I wasn't as relaxed as I am now."
The cold Pittsburgh winters aren't among his favorite things, but even though he says "snow is crazy," he's gotten used to it.
And he has a lot of respect for Steelers coach Bill Cowher.
"Coach Cowher is a good man," Fu said. "He tells it like it is and doesn't sugar-coat anything. He lets you know exactly where you stand, and that's good for us."
Cowher admires Fu, too.
"Chris has been a productive player when he plays." Cowher said. "Unfortunately, he has had some minor injuries that have limited his availability. We look forward to having a healthy Fu and utilizing his size as a runner, his soft hands as a receiver, and his toughness as a blocker and special teams standout. He is one of the most popular players on the team. I really like his demeanor."
The Steelers are 3-1. They lost their season opener 21-3 at Jacksonville and won their second game 20-3 at Buffalo.
Fu's late-game 22-yard touchdown run put the Bills out of reach in the Sept. 30 game, but he didn't carry the ball in the team's first game in brand-new Heinz Field two weeks ago -- a 16-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals --or in a 20-17 win at Kansas City on Sunday.
The Steelers are trying to regain the upper hand in the AFC Central, something that has slipped away in recent years -- first to Jacksonville and on to Tennessee and then Baltimore.
Pittsburgh went 9-7 and just missed the playoffs a year ago. The last time the Steelers made the postseason was in 1997, one year before Fuamatu-Ma'afala came on board.
"I've never experienced the playoffs," he said. "Maybe we'll get to do that this year."
Fu's ultimate goal is to become a starter.
"Hopefully they give me the job some day and hopefully good things will fall into place," he said.
The highlight of Fu's NFL career so far is his second career touchdown, which he scored during a Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers in 1998.
"I scored on a draw play, and, going into the end zone, I got hit by Reggie White," Fuamatu-Ma'afala said.
"Getting hit by Reggie White, that was something. Ever since I was a kid watching the games on TV, all you heard was good stuff about Reggie White."
During "orientation" in that rookie year, his Steelers teammates asked him to do a Polynesian dance.
"So I stood up on the table and snapped my fingers and started to sing (The Temptations') 'Just My Imagination,' and they started rolling with laughter," he said.
For any kid trying to make it to the NFL, Fuamatu-Ma'afala has this advice: "Put God first, that's the key to everything. If you have that, then there's no reason for you to fail."
Fu has dedicated this season to his brother, Nick Ma'afala, who passed away earlier this year.
"I always think about Nick," Fu said. "It's not the same without him."
In his free time, Fu plays football and boxing on Playstation 2 with some of his teammates, but mostly, he goes home to his wife, Adriana.
Fu misses his family members and friends in Hawaii, especially his many nieces and nephews.
Among his friends on the Pittsburgh roster are: "Kimo, from Molokai, Troy Edwards, Hines Ward, Tee Martin, Jerome, pretty much everybody."
It sounds like they're all close buddies who just happen to get their aggressiveness out on Sundays -- the boys in back of "The Bus."