[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10223]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    USING WINNING FORMULA OF SAN ANTONIO SPURS ON AMERICA'S PROBLEMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, like many Americans, I was transfixed 
by the magnificent victory not just in game five of the NBA finals, but 
by every one of these amazing games, a superb effort against a very 
good Miami Heat team, dominated by a person widely acknowledged to be 
the best player in the NBA.
  As a lifelong Portland Trail Blazers fan and one who remembers the 
excitement of being a long-suffering season ticketholder who had the 
joy of being in our coliseum when we won the NBA championship more 
years ago than I care to remember, I appreciate the dynamic that is 
involved with these five NBA championships over the last 17 years.
  I confess, I have also become a fan of the Spurs, their organization, 
their coach--Greg Popovich--but also their approach to the way they do 
business. They have some important lessons for America.
  I feel very strongly that we on Capitol Hill and, indeed, most 
Americans could learn a great deal by paying attention not just to the 
victories, but how the Spurs became the most successful sports 
franchise in any sport over the last 2 decades.
  My son was privileged to play for Coach Popovich when he was head 
coach of the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens, a Division III small basketball 
program. In fact, they had to put two colleges together, Pomona and 
Pitzer, to form one team. His values forged a small but excellent 
college athletic program that is very much in evidence in the Spurs 
today.
  First, they look for talent wherever they find it around the globe. 
It meant players not just from the United States, but I think there are 
eight different countries represented on that roster.
  There is a respect for each of them having a role as a team member, 
their commitment to the larger concept of winning for the greater good. 
Isn't it interesting that their postgame interviews are in six or seven 
different languages and that these players have been able to come 
together and meld into a unit?
  The leadership of the coach is very much in evidence when you watch 
them in action. Coach Popovich is not a celebrity vying for the 
spotlight. Indeed, you could barely see him in the postgame victory 
television interviews. It was focused on the team.
  Today, Americans are facing challenges that they sometimes feel are 
beyond our capacity. They are certainly beyond our capacity as 
individuals to deal with. We are facing a challenge that is similar to 
the rigors of a long, 82-game basketball season and a seemingly 
interminable playoff schedule.
  Our challenges of reducing gun violence, of saving the planet from 
even greater carbon pollution and disruption from global warming, 
empowering our kids to protect them from the scourge of illegal drugs, 
rebuilding and renewing a country that is falling apart, these are 
challenges today that actually we know how to fix. They are all areas 
where progress is vital.
  They seem to be intractable, but all could unite Americans to deal as 
a country on things that, individually, we could not make progress on. 
These all have characteristics in common with the success of Coach 
Popovich and the Spurs. These are long-term issues. They require 
careful thought. They require hard work and investment, and most of 
all, they require working together with an eye on our ultimate goals.
  I would hope that, in the midst of the partisan rancor here in 
Washington, D.C., and the deep divisions among our citizens who yearn 
for simple answers to complex problems--which politicians are all too 
eager to provide--that we can think about the Spurs' success, a 
visionary and patient coach bringing people together to work with 
maximum effort, dealing with the fundamentals, and not quitting. That 
is what America needs today.
  Congratulations to the world champion Spurs. Let's try your winning 
formula on America's problems.

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