[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 21, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     COMMENDING THE NATIONAL CHAMPION UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA GATORS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
congratulate my University of Florida football team for winning its 
second NCAA BCS championship bowl game in the last three seasons. Go 
Gators.
  I want to congratulate the University of Florida not only for being 
the best academic school, but also athletic school in the country.
  Their 24-14 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners showed off teamwork, 
sportsmanship, and one of the defense plays that I have seen. They held 
the team with the highest scoring offense to just 14 points. The Gators 
once again came back to prove that the University of Florida season was 
no fluke, and that the Florida Gators are again a championship team 
that made history. Congratulations to their great players and 
outstanding coach, Urban Meyer, for coaching a remarkable group of 
guys.
  Let's do a quick fact check.
  The Gators won their second national championship in the past 3 years 
and the third in the school's history. Florida is the fourth school in 
the modern era to win two outright national titles in 3 years. Florida 
finished the 2008 season with a 13-1 record, matching the single-season 
school record for wins.

                              {time}  1700

  Tim Tebow became the fifth player since 1950 to win a Heisman Trophy 
and two national championships.
  The win makes Urban Meyer the fifth active coach with multiple 
national titles and the fifth coach since the AP poll began in 1936 to 
win two national championships in his first four seasons at a school.
  Tim Tebow, Florida's leader and quarterback, not only ran for 109 
yards, but threw 18-for-30 and was flawless in the fourth quarter alone 
when it mattered the most and the pressure was on.
  Percy Harvin, whose gutsy play won him the game ball, came back from 
an ankle injury and dashed for 122 yards on only nine carries. And it 
was his 52-yard run down the stretch that set up Jonathan Phillips' 27-
yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for a 17-14 lead, which the 
Gators never lost and never looked back.
  There has been some discussion in this body about having a national 
championship playoff. Let me be clear, we've had a playoff. And I hate 
to say it, that everything is just not all equal. We want to encourage 
all of our kids to participate in sports and activities because we know 
that it builds character, but it is clear that the Gators are superb to 
any other schools with the conferences that we play in.
  So, in closing, I want to leave you again with the Gators' chant that 
I just love: ``One, two, three, four, five, them there Gators don't 
take no jive.''

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