[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 163 (Saturday, December 17, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H12149-H12150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CONGRATULATIONS TO APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL TEAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I join my friend and colleague, Ms. Foxx, 
tonight. This morning I paid tribute to our wonderful men and women in 
uniform for a great win for freedom in Iraq.
  But tonight, Representative Foxx and I want to pay tribute to a great 
team, Appalachian State, for a wonderful win in the national 
championship that they won last night in Division I-AA football. What a 
thrill it was to watch those young men, their fans, their school 
administrators, the whole Appalachian community come together through a 
tough play-off, exhibiting sportsmanship, hard work, commitment, 
incredible enthusiasm, and to win that game last night.
  Take nothing away from Northern Iowa, they played hard. They played 
well. Appalachian prevailed. Seeing the spirit that those young men and 
women exhibited, coaches, who by the way, ladies and gentlemen, Coach 
Jerry Moore, the winning coach, was given his first coaching job by our 
colleague, Coach Osborne. And Coach Moore reflects all of the wonderful 
qualities of Coach Osborne.
  By the same token, I thank Representative Foxx for calling attention 
to my son-in-law, Lonnie Galloway, who coaches there; and I am so proud 
of him and all of the folks.
  Mr. Speaker, I now yield to Representative Foxx for some comments.
  Ms. FOXX. Thank you, Mr. Hayes.
  I am glad you mentioned with Coach Moore serving with Coach Osborne, 
Congressman Osborne. I did not get a chance to mention that this 
morning. I agree with you: he exhibits so much of all of the wonderful 
traits of our colleague, and we are lucky that we have at least three 
people in this body who have connections to Appalachian and to the 
great win that they had last night.
  I am really sorry that our duties here prevented us from being in 
Chattanooga last night with so many Appalachian students and 
supporters.
  I would have loved to see firsthand that crushing defense in the 
fourth quarter led by Jason Hunter and Marques Murrell. I wish I could 
have been there to witness in person the courage of quarterback Richie 
Williams, who played through a painful ankle injury suffered last week 
in the semifinal game against Furman.

                              {time}  2030

  Appalachian is getting a lot of attention because of this football 
win. But the gentleman and I know and the people of western North 
Carolina and, indeed, all North Carolina know that Appalachian has 
always been known as a first-rate college and a first-rate university. 
It has a very proud history,

[[Page H12150]]

particularly in the area of teacher administration and administrators 
of the public schools. And I think getting this win for the football 
team simply rounds out its reputation in terms of being a really top-
notch school. Its academic program has been strong forever. And now 
with this win from the football team, the first national championship 
ever for Appalachian, they show that it is a number one university in 
all respects.
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her comments and, 
again, calling attention to this great victory. My almost 90-year-old 
mother was there, all my family, except for us. But we were here 
following the action very closely. We have an Iraqi Marine veteran who 
plays on that team, number 89, Mr. Stokes. I do not know how Winslow 
survived without me there to keep her from having a heart attack, and 
Barbara suffered, too.
  But, again, my congratulations, heartfelt, and the gentlewoman's as 
well for such a wonderful performance representing North Carolina, the 
academic, the athletic, the school community, Boone, and western North 
Carolina and the mountains.
  Congratulations to Appalachian. A wonderful victory. I thank them for 
representing us.
  Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina.
  Ms. FOXX. And, Mr. Speaker, now we both need to say, Go Mountaineers.
  Mr. HAYES. Go Mountaineers.

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