Posted: January 25, 2011, 4:25 p.m. CT
By MARK CONCANNON
FOXSportsWisconsin.com
The Packers need to beat just one more team to win the world championship, and it's a team that head coach Mike McCarthy never roots against.
"I (was) a Pittsburgh Steeler fan growing up," McCarthy said. "They're my second-favorite team. Pittsburgh is obviously a big part of who I am."
McCarthy grew up in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Greenfield, where in the eyes of many people who still live there, he never really left.
"He's never forgotten where he came from," said Jim Gregg, McCarthy's sixth-grade basketball coach at St. Rosalia Academy. "And the people of Greenfield are so appreciative."
McCarthy, who said that half of his coaching staff either is from Pittsburgh or played football there, was hired as Packers head coach in 2006, signing a contract that afforded him considerable financial wherewithal. He let the people of Greenfield know immediately that he wanted to share his good fortune with his hometown.
"When he first got the job, the first thing Mike said was, 'Anything you need at anytime,'" said Gregg, who houses the unofficial Greenfield Sports Hall of Fame in the game room of his home, featuring pictures of McCarthy and former NFL quarterback Marc Bulger, another of Gregg's former players.
In addition to coaching basketball at St. Rosalia for the past 40 years, Gregg also helps run the Greenfield Baseball Association, which sponsors youth baseball leagues, and the Greenfield Organization, a nonprofit group that establishes various community programs.
"Being involved in sports," Gregg said, "(and) the escalation of prices with equipment and uniforms and whatnot, through his efforts we'll be able to keep the joining fee at the same rate over the years. We haven't raised it for anybody, thanks to Mike."
A banner displayed at the little league field reads, "Thanks, Coach McCarthy and the Green Bay Packers."
Gregg said the Greenfield Organization serves multiple constituencies, all of whom benefit from McCarthy's largesse: "We set programs up for people of all ages
