[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15784-15785]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING FUTURE FOOTBALL GREAT RYAN HOAG

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CHRISTOPHER COX

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 23, 2003

  Mr. COX. Mr. Speaker, for the past 28 years, the Orange County 
community has given out its ``Irrelevant Week'' award to the last 
player selected in the National Football

[[Page 15785]]

League draft--an award premised on the ``simple act of doing something 
nice for someone for no reason.''
  This year's award, Irrelevant Week XXVIII, honors Ryan Hoag, a wide 
receiver from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MI, who was 
selected 262nd in the NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders. Ryan, who 
checks in at 6 feet 2 inches tall and 200 pounds, caught 56 passes in 
the 2002 season, racking up 808 yards and 10 touchdowns. This rock-
solid performance earned Ryan his second straight first-team selection 
to the all-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team--and 
apparently also caught the eye of scouts for the Oakland Raiders, who 
hope that he can make a significant contribution to their team's future 
success. In addition to his football skills, Ryan is clearly a 
tremendous all-around athlete: he was a soccer and tennis star in high 
school, and he also competes on his college track team, where he 
recently placed third in the NCAA Division III national championships 
for the 100-meter race, with a cheetah-fast 10.51-second dash. And when 
his football playing days are over, Ryan says that he hopes to follow 
his true passion, teaching, by becoming a kindergarten teacher.
  While Ryan will surely have a lot of hard work ahead of him if he is 
to earn his way onto the Oakland Raiders roster, long odds do not 
dampen the enthusiasm of Orange County community leaders like Paul 
Salata, who puts Irrelevant Week together. That is because we recognize 
that fame is fleeting, that humility is a virtue, and that even the 
last round NFL draft pick is a significantly better athlete than any 
member of Congress.
  Today, I ask my colleagues to join with me in congratulating Ryan 
Hoag and everyone else who is involved in the Irrelevant Week 
celebration. In some ways, this celebration has outgrown its name, for 
I cannot think of anything more relevant to our spirit of community and 
our common humanity than doing nice things for other people. On behalf 
of the U.S. Congress and the people of Orange County whom it is my 
privilege to represent, congratulations to everyone associated with 
Irrelevant Week XXVIII, for being more relevant than you care to admit.

                          ____________________