[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 65 (Monday, May 20, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H2637]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO THE FOUNDERS AND MEMBERS OF THE U.S. PROFESSIONAL VOLLEYBALL 
                                 LEAGUE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give a special tribute to 
some very special athletes and to an incredibly important entrepreneur. 
To paraphrase one of my favorite Presidents: ``Those who say that there 
are no more American heroes, well, they just don't know where to 
look.''
  For too long, there have been too few women athletes for girls to 
look up to. A brave entrepreneur named Bill Kennedy decided to change 
all that. He created the U.S. Professional Volleyball League. This was 
their inaugural season.
  They assembled some of the finest women athletes and put together an 
exciting season. If you thought 30-inch vertical jumps were only for 
the NBA, you would be wrong. Fans responded by filling arenas and 
cheering to the top of their lungs.
  Now, I admit that we are especially proud of Coach Tore 
Aleksandersen, General Manager Kevin Rueten, and all the members of the 
Minnesota Chill. They won both the regular season and the playoff 
championship. Rochester is proud to call them our home team.
  Perhaps even better than seeing the Chill win the championship was to 
see the adoration in the eyes of young girls who came to cheer for 
their local heroes.
  We all need heroes and role models. We were blessed to find a new 
group in the Chill and in the entire league. We saw little of the bad 
behavior which has become so commonplace in modern day sports. We were 
treated to spirited competition that parents could be proud to take 
their children to. I have little doubt that the league will grow and 
prosper.
  Congratulations again to all the members of the Minnesota Chill for 
their championship in this inaugural season and thank you again to Bill 
Kennedy for giving us this new league and a wonderful group of new 
heroes.

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