    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
    [March 17, 1995]
    [Pages 370-371]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the 1994 National Hockey League Champion
    New York Rangers
    March 17, 1995

        Good afternoon. Please be seated. I'm delighted to see all of you
    here, and welcome to the White House and to the Rose Garden. You come on
    the first day that the trees are blooming, so you're bringing us all
    wonderful weather.
        It's an honor for me to host the New York Rangers here, including
    the commissioner of the National Hockey League, Gary Bettman; the
    president and general manager of the Rangers, Neil Smith; coach Colin
    Campbell; and assistant coach Dick Todd. And I think Congressman Eliot
    Engel was supposed to be here, and he is unless they're still voting.
        It was last June 14th when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup, finally
    breaking the infamous curse. The next day I got a letter from Senator
    Moynihan, a big Ranger fan, who said that since the Rangers brought the
    cup back to Madison Square Garden, I should bring the Rangers to the
    Rose Garden. I'm delighted you're finally here. We've been trying to
    arrange this visit for some time, but what's a few months compared to 54
    years? [Laughter]
        I can't tell you how much I personally enjoyed the playoffs. I
    really got into them. I tried to rearrange my schedule so that I could
    see the games. I enjoyed seeing Mark Messier predicting and delivering a
    victory when your backs were against the wall. I enjoyed Brian Leetch's
    MVP playoff performance, the first by an American-born player. And I
    especially enjoyed your goalie Mike Richter's acrobatic saves. All of us
    here in Washington can appreciate what goalies do because we have so
    many shots taken at us every day. And I was hoping maybe, in addition to
    a jersey, one of you could loan me a face mask for the next year or so.
    [Laughter]
        I also want to say something that I observed watching these
    playoffs. Stars alone don't win championships; teams do. I remember your
    chant from last year, ``Heave ho. Everybody pulling together.'' This
    year it's turned into ``Heave ho. Two in a row.''
        The Stanley Cup is the oldest trophy competition by professional
    athletes in North America, the only trophy that bears the names of not
    only the teams but the individual players who won it. I'd also like to
    say a special word of appreciation because the Rangers boast the first
    four Russians ever to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup,
    another sign of our increasingly interconnected global community and
    America's outreach to the rest of the world.
        I also admire the tradition that the entire team shares the Stanley
    Cup. Each player gets to take it home to friends and to family. This
    team took that one step further, because the Rangers know that teamwork
    isn't only about the guys who lace up the skates, it's also about your
    fans, too. And if ever a team had great fans, you do. So you paid your
    fans back by remembering right after the victory a longtime fan who had
    passed away, by bringing the cup to sick children in the hospital and
    even by bringing the cup to restaurants and bars throughout New York--
    [laughter]--as well as to one of the Vice President's favorite hangouts,
    the David Letterman show.
        For all that, I thank you. Your victory has shown us what is best
    about professional sports: perseverance, hard work, real commitment to
    working together. It's an example for which all of us in Madison Square
    Garden and the Rose Garden are very grateful.
        Congratulations, and welcome again.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:39 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House.

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