[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 9, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S247]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA'S NCAA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I am here with a big smile on 
my face, with an orange and blue tie, to recognize the signal 
accomplishment of the University of Florida Fighting Gators, and not 
only now with the national championship in football, but in the same 
season, the 2006 season, to have the unusual achievement of having the 
national champions in basketball as well as football.
  Throughout the season, this team was challenged time after time and 
was underrated in the press; yet, they had the heart to win and keep 
fighting. The score of 41 to 14 last night clearly shows who are the 
national champions.
  On behalf of our State of Florida, later today, I will be introducing 
a resolution commending the University of Florida for being the 
national champions and urge our colleagues to join in this Senate 
resolution.
  I will only additionally call to the Senate's attention that with my 
colleague, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, we engaged in a friendly wager. This 
is not like the normal wager that years ago, when a Florida team was 
playing a California team and the junior Senator from California, 
Senator Boxer, and I entered into a friendly wager of a crate of 
oranges versus a barrel of California almonds--and our office enjoyed 
those almonds for several months. No, this was a different kind. This 
was a wager with Senator Brown of Ohio that the losing team's Senator 
would do the number of military pushups equivalent to the score of the 
game in public in front of the cameras. So with a score of 41 to 14, 
that is 55 pushups. I will even extend the olive branch to Senator 
Brown that if he doesn't want to do all of them, I will do part of them 
with him. But it is a great day for college football, and it is 
certainly a great day for the State of Florida and for the University 
of Florida.

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