[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16830]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     CONGRATULATING THE LSU TIGERS

  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, this past Saturday evening in my home town 
of Tuscaloosa, AL, there was quite a scoring event--I think most of the 
people in the Nation watched it--and that was between the No. 1 ranked 
football team in the Nation, LSU, Louisiana State University, and the 
University of Alabama. Senator Sessions and I were there. We had a bet 
that Senator Sessions and Senator Vitter initiated--and Senator 
Landrieu and I concurred with--on the outcome of the game. All in fun, 
but you know we all like to win.
  This was a tremendous football game: no touchdowns on either side, 
five field goals, overtime. LSU won. I congratulate them. I 
congratulate my two Senator colleagues here today. It was hard fought 
between two great football teams, and today--people have probably seen 
me on the Senate floor a number of times--I have never worn the purple 
tie, but I have one on today because I lost the bet. We lost the game. 
I will not wear it every day, but out of respect for my colleagues from 
Louisiana: congratulations Senator Landrieu, congratulations Senator 
Vitter, congratulations to the people of Louisiana and to the football 
team and the coaching staff in Baton Rouge.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, Senator Shelby, a 
University of Alabama graduate and also a University of Alabama law 
graduate. I am a law graduate myself from the University of Alabama.
  It was a fabulous spectacle this weekend. There were 103,000 people 
in that fabulous new stadium that has been expanded with all the colors 
and the band and the noise. Truly, I doubt any of us will live to see a 
game which is any louder than that game was. It was a spectacular event 
and an unusual, special event that happens in the Southeastern 
Conference.
  So we believe in being winners. Alabama played every single play--and 
so did LSU, with every single play--committed to winning the football 
game. At the end of it, after all had been said and done, it was 6-6. I 
think the two best teams in the Nation clearly proved they were the two 
best teams in the Nation. But we had to have an overtime.
  So to my colleagues, Senator Landrieu and Senator Vitter, 
congratulations. I am not really proud but I am honored and willing to 
wear the tie of the team that beat the University of Alabama.
  We look forward to celebrating with you that fabulous game and to 
also having some fresh Alabama gulf coast seafood. Let the whole world 
know that our gulf coast seafood industry is back strong, better than 
ever. So congratulations.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Louisiana.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I thank our Alabama colleagues. They are 
very gracious, and they are great sports in terms of this whole past 
week and this bet. So I am honored to be with them as they wear LSU 
colors for 1 day. Maybe they can keep those ties for January. Maybe 
after the BCS championship game they will at least wear it for an SEC 
victor--knock on wood--and we very much look forward to their 
delivering, as Senator Sessions said, great, delicious, fresh, and 
perfectly safe gulf coast seafood that all of us are going to enjoy.
  So I thank them for being such great sports, and I congratulate their 
team for being a superteam. That was a heck of a game. It was 
everything it was cracked up to be. People said it would be a defensive 
struggle. Yet nobody imagined there would not even be a touchdown: 9-6 
in overtime.
  I congratulate the Alabama team that played their hearts out and is a 
great Alabama team.
  Of course, I also want to pause and congratulate everybody in the LSU 
community and the LSU team. That was a hard fought struggle, a hard 
fought win. A lot of folks came together and made extraordinary plays. 
Of course, it ended with Drew Alleman's field goal in overtime. But Mo 
Claiborne and Eric Reid had terrific interceptions, and even the 
punter, Brad Wing, played a pivotal role in terms of his 73-yard punt 
that won the field position battle.
  So there are a lot of heroes and a lot of good players on the LSU 
side, and I congratulate the entire LSU community.
  With the rest of the State of Louisiana, we look forward--knock on 
wood--to several more victories leading up to, hopefully, the BCS 
championship game in New Orleans in the Louisiana Superdome. So, of 
course, we look forward to that.
  Thank you, Mr. President. At this point, I turn to my colleague from 
Louisiana, Senator Landrieu.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Louisiana.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I begin by thanking my two colleagues 
from Alabama for being such great sports. I never thought they would 
actually wear purple and gold on the Senate floor, but I am proud of 
them for living up to their end of the bet, for showing up 
appropriately dressed this afternoon.
  I thank my colleague Senator Vitter for initiating this terrific bet. 
I am looking forward to some great gulf coast Alabama seafood. As the 
Senator from Louisiana said--and Senator Sessions alluded to--the 
seafood is not only plentiful, abundant, and affordable, it is also 
very safe. We are proud to represent the gulf coast and proud of these 
two extraordinary universities.
  As a graduate of LSU, I am particularly proud. But our universities--
both the University of Alabama and the University of Louisiana, LSU--
are tremendous universities that have an extraordinary reach across all 
disciplines, and their football teams showed that great spirit on the 
field.
  I want to remind my colleagues that if LSU is victorious this weekend 
against western Kentucky, the Tigers will advance to 10 and 0. This 
would be the first time they had done that since their national 
championship in 1958. So you know how excited our whole State is.
  I also want to say the great news from this weekend is, whatever 
recession there was in Alabama, I think it is over because of the 
stimulus brought to their State by our crazy LSU fans who started to 
arrive on Wednesday, I understand. No one can tailgate like we can 
tailgate. So I think if they check their economic indicators this 
Monday afternoon, they all will be straight up from the good money and 
good fun that was had in Alabama.
  But, seriously, just in conclusion, Les Miles and our team are just 
unbelievable, and our LSU team is just terrific. But both teams played 
their hearts out, and I congratulate the men on the field that night. 
It was an exciting game to watch, and according to the ratings the LSU-
Alabama game drew the second highest rating of any CBS regular season 
college football broadcast since the network began its tracking.
  So, again, I thank my colleagues for being good sports, and we are on 
the road to the national championship. We may see them again.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 
the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coons). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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