[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 163 (Wednesday, October 16, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S5808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Congratulating the St. Louis Blues

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, I want to talk about a very different 
topic, and that is the Stanley Cup. Yesterday at the White House, the 
St. Louis Blues were warmly welcomed by the President in a ceremony 
celebrating their Stanley Cup victory. On June 12, the Blues made 
history when they defeated the Boston Bruins in game 7 of the Stanley 
Cup Final.
  It was hard to imagine at the beginning of this season that the Blues 
could have done this. They were the lowest ranked team in the National 
Hockey League. I think there was a time in the month of January when 
the odds that the Blues would win the Stanley Cup were 150 to 1. I am 
not particularly a betting man, but knowing what I know now, we 
wouldn't have had to put much money on that bet to have won a 
significant amount of money. As it turned out, however, as you and I 
know in what we do here and what we have done in our lives, the odds 
are not really what count; what counts is how you play the season. Just 
like we often say in politics, candidates matter. In hockey, in sports, 
the players matter. How they come together as a team matters. Whether 
or not that team really becomes a team matters, and this one did.
  It was a season for the Blues that was filled with record-breaking 
achievements. Jordan Binnington became the first and only rookie goalie 
to win 16 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Ryan O'Reilly set a 
franchise record with 23 points in the playoffs and was named the 
postseason most valuable player. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final was 
the most watched NHL game in 36 years.
  For the first time in franchise history, the Blues brought the 
Stanley Cup trophy to Missouri to celebrate their achievement as the 
best sports fans in Missouri stepped out. Five hundred thousand people 
were there when the Stanley Cup parade was in St. Louis for the first 
time. Five hundred thousand people--in several States represented on 
the floor, that would be everybody in the State. Five hundred thousand 
is a pretty big crowd anywhere, as it was in St. Louis that day.
  Today, the Stanley Cup trophy will be on display on Capitol Hill so 
that Blues fans in the area can get a chance to see this legendary 
trophy in person. The Stanley Cup has already traveled all over the 
world since the Blues won the Stanley Cup. Ryan O'Reilly brought the 
Cup to Ontario to share it with his 99-year-old grandmother, who is 
probably one of the oldest people to see the Stanley Cup. But for sure 
the youngest baby to be put in the Stanley Cup--the record was broken 
when the trophy was brought to a mother and her newborn child at Mercy 
Hospital in St. Louis, the baby barely born, right there in the Stanley 
Cup, setting the new Stanley Cup ``youngest baby in the Cup'' record.
  We will never forget the image of Laila Anderson. Laila, a young girl 
battling a life-threatening disease, in many ways became the No. 1 fan 
of the team. Laila, by the way, was at the White House in the Rose 
Garden yesterday, and she was called up to stand by the President and 
the Stanley Cup, with the team surrounding both of them. The night they 
won, she was on the ice with the players celebrating as the Stanley Cup 
was passed around at the end of game 7.
  The day after the Blues received their championship rings, two 
players visited Laila to personally deliver her very own ring. I saw 
those rings yesterday, and they are just about as big as Laila's hand. 
They were big rings. Her name was inscribed on the diamond-studded 
championship ring that was given to her, which also included the words 
``Play Gloria,'' which became the theme song, fight song, inspirational 
song for the Blues at the end of the season.
  Blues fans have plenty to be excited about this season. The majority 
of the names of the players that are now etched on the Stanley Cup are 
back this year. The roster is even better with the addition of 
defenseman Justin Faulk.
  We are also proud to say that St. Louis will host the 2020 NHL All-
Star Game in January. That game, of course, brings together the most 
talented players in professional hockey. I know St. Louis is ready to 
welcome them, and we will all be excited to further solidify St. 
Louis's place as one of the great sports cities in America.
  It has been a great year for Blues fans, and I hope the team will 
once again have the opportunity to visit the White House next year. 
This will be the first year of many years where those of us in the 
Missouri delegation will get to host the Stanley Cup in the Capitol.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.