Former Steelers guard Alan Faneca was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame last weekend. Faneca was drafted by the Steelers in the first round of the 1998 draft, and remained with the team through 2007. After leaving the Steelers, the 9 time pro bowl and all pro left guard saw short stints with the Jets and Cardinals before ultimately retiring in 2011.
Since retiring, Faneca lost over 100 lbs. He says he always planned to lose weight after he retired from football, and attributes the weight loss to cardio and marathon running. Here is a brief interview where the former Steelers lineman talks about becoming a marathon runner.
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Faneca played for LSU from 1994 to 1997, and amassed 210 pancake blocks during his time on the Tigers line. He had originally committed to Alabama, but changed his mind the morning of signing day after a call from the LSU recruiter.
“He dropped a lot of four-letter words,” Faneca recalled via Nola.com. “I’d have to say he cursed me out. After I hung up the phone I looked around my room and it was all purple and gold. There must have been 20 items. . . T-shirts, posters. . . I thought to myself, ‘What am I doing? I’m screwing up.’ I thought about it, woke up on signing day and said I’m going to LSU.”
20 years and a super bowl ring later, he’s inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Here’s another brief video of Faneca taking questions before his induction, and recalling the tradition of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The retired guard told reporters that it would have been a let down to go anywhere besides Pittsburgh.
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