[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[House]
[Pages 31710-31711]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               COMMENDING THE REAL SALT LAKE SOCCER CLUB

  Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 942) commending the Real Salt Lake Soccer Club 
for winning the 2009 Major League Soccer Cup.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 942

       Whereas the Real Salt Lake soccer club won the 2009 Major 
     League Soccer Cup, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy at Qwest 
     Field in Seattle, Washington on November 22, 2009;
       Whereas Real Salt Lake played through 2 sudden-death 
     overtimes and a penalty-kick shootout to defeat the Galaxy;
       Whereas forward Robbie Findlay scored a goal in the second 
     half to tie the game and force an overtime period;
       Whereas defender Robbie Russell scored the decisive fifth 
     goal in the seventh round of the shootout to win the game;
       Whereas goalkeeper Nick Rimando blocked 4 shots, including 
     2 in the shootout, and was named the Most Valuable Player of 
     the game;
       Whereas head coach Jason Kreis is the youngest coach to win 
     a Major League Soccer Cup, and coached Real Salt Lake to its

[[Page 31711]]

     second post-season appearance since joining the team in 2007; 
     and
       Whereas Real Salt Lake defeated the top 2 seeds in the 
     Eastern Conference, the first-seeded Columbus Crew and the 
     second-seeded Chicago Fire, to reach the championship game: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) commends the Real Salt Lake soccer club for winning the 
     2009 Major League Soccer Cup; and
       (2) congratulates Real Salt Lake for winning the first 
     Major League Soccer Cup in the franchise's history.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) and the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. 
Biggert) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and add any extraneous materials.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to recognize the 
principal lead sponsor of this resolution, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. 
Matheson), for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MATHESON. I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding.
  You know, often when we have a sporting event about to come up, a lot 
of people predict what's going to happen. But what's great about sports 
is you never really know what's going to happen. And while we often do 
a resolution to congratulate teams who have won a major championship, 
this is kind of special because the Real Salt Lake team went into the 
playoffs as the last team in. Eight teams made the playoffs for Major 
League Soccer this year. Real Salt Lake had the worst record, but it's 
a team that throughout the course of this year has evolved, and in fact 
there was a stretch of 17 days between two games toward the end of the 
regular season where the team kind of rededicated itself and went 
through sort of a mini-training camp again, and when it came out of 
that camp, it seemed to be a different team.
  It got into the playoffs, and of course it was an underdog in its 
first round, and it won. It was an underdog in the semi-finals, and it 
won there, too. And then the championship against the L.A. Galaxy. In a 
shoot-out, the team was able to succeed.
  And there's an interesting sign in the locker room of the Real Salt 
Lake team. The sign says, ``The team is the star.'' And in an era where 
we often celebrate great individual performances--and there are a 
number of individuals that certainly deserve mention--still the concept 
of a team coming together in a team sport seems to be a pattern and a 
formula for success. And in terms of the Real Salt Lake soccer team, 
that is exactly what happened.
  So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to offer this resolution. 
It was interesting going around to my colleagues to collect 
cosponsorships. This was something that was very accepted on both sides 
of the aisle. And again, I just think it's great that we have a chance 
as a Congress to at least congratulate this team on its great 
accomplishment in winning the Major League Soccer Cup in 2009.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of House Resolution 942 commending the Real 
Salt Lake Soccer Club for winning the 2009 Major League Soccer Cup.
  Last month on November 22 in front of over 46,000 fans at Qwest 
Field--you'd think that we were in the UK with the popularity of soccer 
out there. But the Real Salt Lake Soccer Club won the 2009 Major League 
Soccer Club, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy, and the final victory of 
a remarkable five-game winning streak did not come easily. The Real 
Salt Lake Soccer Club outlasted a formidable opponent through two 
sudden-death overtimes and a penalty kick shoot-out en route to a 
brilliant 5-4 victory. Congratulations.
  This victory marked the culmination of a remarkable session for a 
team that I guess barely made the playoffs and only 5 years ago was a 
lowly expansion team. In fact, this victory is the first major pro 
sports championship in Utah for almost 40 years.
  Congratulations to the Real Salt Lake Soccer Club, their coach. Jason 
Kreis--the youngest coach to win a Major League Soccer Cup--and to Utah 
and their very many, many dedicated fans.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I just want to amplify what has been said 
by both the speakers. I think there's a certain magic about this 
championship, that it was totally unexpected, and I, too, want to 
congratulate Coach Jason Kreis, who became the youngest coach to win a 
Major League Soccer Cup, and goalkeeper Nick Rimando, the Most Valuable 
Player. The Real Salt Lake won their first Major League Soccer Cup in 
only their second appearance in the Major League Soccer playoffs. As a 
Red Sox fan who suffered forever, I envy the early success.
  I do want to note that after compiling a regular season record of 11 
wins, 12 losses, and 7 ties, Real Salt Lake narrowly earned the final 
spot on the 2009 Major League Soccer Playoffs. This is a Cinderella 
team if there ever was one.
  Despite being the underdog, Real Salt lake orchestrated a series of 
improbable victories against the defending champion Columbus Crew and 
the Chicago Fire before--as has been mentioned here--beating the 
favored Los Angeles Galaxy in the Major League Soccer Cup.
  In the championship game, the Los Angeles Galaxy struck first with a 
goal by Mike Magee in the 41st minute of play, and many thought that 
might be it, but Real Salt Lake continued to play hard and managed to 
tie the game in the 61st minute of the game with a goal by Robbie 
Findley. The game ended in a tie and eventually went to penalty kicks, 
which Real Salt Lake won by a score of 5-4.
  Real Salt Lake's victory in the MLS Cup stands as a testament to what 
can be achieved through hard work, dedication, and relentless team 
spirit. As USA Today wrote after the game, ``Major League Soccer has 
its most improbable champion in its 14-year history.''
  Real Salt Lake's commitment to teamwork and perseverance in the face 
of adversity is both inspiring and commendable. Their achievement 
deserves our praise, and personally I want to applaud the team's 
players, coaches, management, and its fans who never gave up--all of 
those who helped in this unprecedented success in the Major League 
Soccer Cup.
  Madam Speaker, let us, as a body, take this opportunity to commend 
this year's Major League Soccer Cup Champions through passage of House 
Resolution 942, join with Mr. Matheson of Utah and congratulate Real 
Salt Lake on winning the 2009 Major League Soccer Cup.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 942.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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