Winning Number

They crowd into the small, smoky community center to play bingo every Wednesday night. The players, about 70 women from the surrounding communities, intently watch the announcer as he spins the bin, reaches in and selects a ball.

“B-12,” he calls out.

There’s a scramble to check cards to see if anyone has won. No one has. Greg Hopkins spins again, aware of the importance of his job.

As a receiver/linebacker for the Arena Football League Avengers, Hopkins has been described in many ways: the best and hardest-working player in the league, “an underwear model” in reference to his head-turning good looks, and a motivating team leader.

But for the people of Nineveh, Pa., population 88, he’s a local hero, the hometown boy who made good.

“I owe a lot to having grown up there,” Hopkins said. “It’s like no other place.”

Drive too fast on the two-lane road heading toward Waynesburg and you might miss it. After all, the town whose only business is the Hopkins Family Store hardly looks like a bustling city.

“You feel as if you’ve been transported to the ‘50s,” said long-time friend and arena league broadcaster Ari Wolfe. “Everyone does literally know everyone’s name.”

The biggest name these days is Hopkins. The town shut down last weekend when 60 supporters made the 5 1/2drive to Indianapolis to watch the leading candidate for the AFL Ironman of the Year--the league’s highest honor.

If they gave iron man awards in Nineveh, Hopkins already would have a mantel full.

But there’s not a lot of public recognition in a town so small. And it’s not the reason he supervised a group of convicts as they constructed the town’s community center, or the reason he helped acquire several grants to upgrade it.

“I just wanted to do something,” Hopkins said. “I had a few ideas in my head and they kept growing.”

In the off-season, he serves as one of three elected county auditors, perhaps the highest civic position in a town without a mayor or a sheriff.

His efforts are the reason the Little League field looks so modern, or residents can play basketball under lights, or the community can play bingo in the renovated facility.

“We just learn to help each other a little bit,” said Hopkins’ mother, Dottie. “We celebrate birthdays, holidays together. Everyone’s real friendly.”

His older and younger brother left the small town and visit occasionally, but Hopkins, 30, returns to his parents’ house every off-season.

“Helps him catch his breath a little,” his mother said.

But there’s no time spent sitting around. He tends to the family cattle ranch and does the bookkeeping or scoops the hand-dipped ice cream at the store that has been in the family since 1946. There’s always a split rail fence to build or some other chore to get done. And, of course, there’s bingo to supervise.

He came up with the idea two years ago. He rounded up some volunteers, set up the snack bar and put the word out to the neighboring towns. The profits would help maintain the community center and fire station. Throughout the season on Wednesday nights, Hopkins calls the center to see how it’s going.

“He takes bingo very seriously,” said former teammate Jake Hoffart, who has visited Nineveh. “It’s the biggest thing out there.”

Hopkins credits his close-knit family upbringing and small, blue-collar town ethics of hard work and strong values for his success.

His father, Sam, a no-nonsense quiet type, worked in the electric power plants as a boilermaker for 30 years. As a young boy, Hopkins also saw the toughened hands of the local men who’d stop by the store for coffee in the mornings before heading out to the steel mills.

“That’s real work, then they come home and take care of the ranch,” he said. “Playing sports was easy.”

Hopkins grew up playing football and wrestling and did well at both. Several Division I schools offered him wrestling scholarships, but he wanted to play football. After setting nine school records as a receiver at Slippery Rock University, he had a disappointing tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers. At the urging of an agent, he tried arena football and hasn’t looked back.

Over the last three years, he has been one of the top receivers in the league and this off-season was the most sought-after free agent after leaving Indiana. First-year Avenger Coach Ed Hodgkiss, who was Indiana’s offensive coordinator the last three seasons, said Hopkins came to Los Angeles because he wanted to help turn around the team’s direction.

Hopkins, who today will sign a two-year contract extension to stay in Los Angeles, has made an impact as the Avengers (7-6) clinched a playoff berth. They play Buffalo in their regular-season finale Saturday at Staples Center.

Before the start of every game, Hopkins will give the team a speech followed by the same motivational statement about attitude.

“Everyone looks up to him,” Avenger quarterback Tony Graziani said. “Some guys just talk about commitment and character, Greg lives his life that way.”

Hopkins almost sounds too good to be true.

“Yes, people are always a little amazed by him,” former teammate Mike Pawlawski said. “But he’s the real thing. You can count on Greg to always do the right thing. It’s genuine.”

Hodgkiss kids that he’ll probably lose Hopkins to Hollywood before retirement. But there’s not a lot of glitzy swagger to him.

“He would be happy driving a four-wheeler chasing cattle,” Hoffart said.