ARLINGTON, Texas -- Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy isn't exactly known for his public displays of bluster, and he didn't provide anything even close to bulletin-board material for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the buildup to Super Bowl XLV.
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Behind closed doors, though, McCarthy pulled something pretty brazen the night before the game: He had his players fitted for rings.
Then they went out and beat the Steelers 31-25 on Sunday.
"We knew we had a good team," cornerback Charles Woodson said. "We knew if we went out and played the way we are capable of playing, we don't feel like anybody can beat us. That was just a vote of confidence for us: get fitted for your ring. I don't know when we'll get them, but it'll fit."
McCarthy's motivational ploy seemed to come as a shock to Packers players. And given the result of Sunday's game, it also seemed to work.
"I think it just sets that mental mindset that you've got to go out there and you've got something to accomplish," guard Daryn Colledge said.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press