[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1536-E1537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE WITH REGARD TO THE UNITED STATES 
  WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM AND ITS WINNING PERFORMANCE IN THE 1999 WOMEN'S 
                          WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT

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                               speech of

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 13, 1999

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, in front of over 90,000 
adoring fans, the United States Women's Team won the 1999 Women's World 
Cup. In an electrifying

[[Page E1537]]

match, our team defeated China with a 5 to 4 penalty kick victory.
  The excellence of our team sends a powerful and positive message to 
the world about the importance of women's athletics and its value in 
building confidence, character and self-esteem for our young women.
  Saturday's victory represents a first in many ways.
  It was the largest women's world championship in history. Over 90,000 
fans attended, a record for a women-only sporting event.
  Saturday's game was the most-watched soccer game ever on network 
televisions.
  This was the first Women's World Cup hosted by the United States. 
Over 30 matches were played before more than 650,000 fans in seven 
cities across the country.
  An unprecedented 16 nations participated, signaling a growth for 
women's soccer throughout the world.
  But Saturday's victory is important for many other reasons.
  Our team helped to raise soccer and women's sports to new levels, 
both in America and internationally. World Cup soccer has long been the 
venue for male players and is the most popular sport in the world. But, 
the Women's World Cup and the U.S. national team in particular showed 
us that women's soccer and women's sports can be just as captivating, 
just as athletic, just as powerful, and just as competitive as men's 
sports.
  What makes our team so special is that the U.S. women's national 
soccer program stands in stark contrast to many of its competitors who 
rely on a government-run or government-financed training system or a 
professional club to produce national teams.
  In contrast, our American women started in community-based amateur 
recreational leagues, and owe much to their parents, who have 
steadfastly driven their daughters to weekend soccer games and summer 
soccer camps.
  They have also relied on the high-caliber, but amateur, college 
sports system which provides top-notch athletic competition that, in 
turn, produces the top-notch athletes who can compete at this level.
  Key to this college competition is the valuable role Title IX of the 
1972 Education Amendments has played in first establishing, then 
strengthening college sports programs for women, creating opportunities 
both to participate and to compete at advanced levels in soccer and 
many other sports.
  But perhaps the finest trait exemplified by the Women's World Cup, 
and by the performance of the American team in particular, is the quest 
for excellence. Whether you are a rabid soccer fan or merely a casual 
observer, excellence is something we all recognize.
  The U.S. Team is renowned both here and around the world for its 
commitment to values that we can all appreciate: teamwork, 
sportsmanship and fair play. Their esprit d' corps has been emphasized 
in feature article after feature article, and has even been a 
distinctive theme in TV commercials over the past few weeks.
  Victory is wonderful, and victory is to be commended. But as long as 
we pursue excellence in our lives, as the U.S. national team has 
demonstrated time and time again, we can all be champions.

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