Home sweet home for new Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy. Enjoying a Saturday off in the city he grew up in, McCarthy attended Saturday night’s Pittsburgh Penguins game and received a loud applause from fans after being recognized on the scoreboard.
The broadcast captured the moment with McCarthy waving back to fans.
Born in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Greenfield, McCarthy has always touted his roots. It made his hire unique, rare as it is for a coach to be able to lead his hometown team. For Pittsburgh, it’s the second occurrence of their last four hires after Crafton’s Bill Cowher was named Chuck Noll’s successor in 1992.
During his introductory press conference, McCarthy was emotional in thanking the Steelers’ organization for the chance to coach the team.
“This city, this franchise and this fan base means the world to me – because Pittsburgh is my world,” he said in part.
Sharing the same color scheme, the major Pittsburgh sports teams have always had close bonds. The Pittsburgh Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins regularly support each other on Twitter/X. The Steelers also gave a shoutout to the champion Pittsburgh River Hounds, who begin their title defending quest tonight.
McCarthy will hope to cheer on a win tonight for a short-handed Penguins’ team facing rival Philadelphia Flyers. Sidney Crosby returned to skating but remains out due to an ankle injury suffered during the Olympics. Evgeni Malkin begins his five game suspension after slashing Rasmus Dahilin in the head Thursday.
As of this writing, the Penguins and Flyers were tied at 1 late in the first period. The Penguins have surpassed expectations this year, a goal McCarthy will aim to match come the fall.
McCarthy is expected to speak at the league’s owners meetings later this month where he’ll provide an update on the team’s moves during the first wave of free agency.
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