[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 13 (Thursday, February 5, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S648]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                              HERB BROOKS

 Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I am proud to recognize and pay 
tribute to my good friend, a great Minnesotan, and a real American 
hero, the late Herb Brooks, whose memory, accomplishments, and 
contributions are being memorialized today for all time in St. Paul.
  Herb Brooks and I cam from two different worlds. I am so glad I got 
to know him in this place. Like a lot of sports fans, he gave me the 
greatest spectator moment of my life in Lake Placid. But what he has 
taught me about life is so much more significant.
  Herb was a son of the East Side of Saint Paul. It's neighborhood that 
has produced mayors, Governors, and two Supreme Court justices. I 
wonder if there is a neighborhood that has touched more lives for good 
than the East Side.
  Herb had a lot to say, and not all of it would go in a PG movie. He 
told his hockey team, ``Gentlemen, we're not talented enough to win on 
talent alone.'' That was pretty autobiological, I think.
  Tonight, we in Minnesota, Herb's home State that loved him so much, 
have the honor to unveil a permanent tribune to Herb's remarkable 
career, a career devoted not only to athletic excellence, but character 
and integrity. Then, we get to relive and relish the moment that 
reminded all Americans to start believing in miracles again at a 
screening of the new Hollywood feature film ``The Miracle,'' based on 
the USA hockey team's shining moment in Lake Placid under Herb Brooks.
  I learned a great deal about leadership from Herb Brooks. He was not 
a man of many words, but when Herb spoke, people listened, because what 
he had to say was always profound.
  More importantly than what Herb said was what he did. He was the kind 
of leader we need more of, the kind that leads by example. Herb Brooks 
lived an amazing, remarkable life. He is a hero of mine, and was to 
millions of other Americans.
  But what summed Herb Brooks up for me was this Brooksism: ``Everybody 
is important, but not too important.'' That was how he articulated his 
team concept.
  If we could all go through life seeing every person we meet as 
important and not seeing ourselves as too important--who knows, maybe 
there would be a lot more miracles.
  Herb will always be remembered in the hearts and minds of my fellow 
Minnesotans. But tonight we unveil a statue--in a city that Herb loved 
and loved him back--that will forever immortalize Herb Brooks's image 
in Minnesota history. This is a wonderful tribute, and one I am deeply 
honored to be a part of.

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