    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [June 16, 1998]
    [Pages 970-971]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Super Bowl XXXII Champion Denver Broncos
    June 16, 1998

        Good afternoon. Thank you very much. Commissioner
    Tagliabue, Mr. Bowlen,
    Coach Shanahan, friends of the Broncos, I'm
    delighted to see all of you here. I want to especially acknowledge the
    presence here of Governor Romer and Senators
    Allard and Campbell and Hatch,
    Representatives DeGette, Schaefer, and Schaffer, and Mayor
    Webb, Ms. Martinez. And I'd like to say a special word of appreciation to
    Secretary Federico Pena and his wife,
    Ellen. He has been mayor of Denver, the
    Secretary of Transportation, and now the Secretary of Energy. And this
    is his last public event before going into the private sector, and he is
    going out on a high. So, thank you very much, Mr. Secretary.
        Let me say to all of you, I think every football fan loved the last
    Super Bowl. Denver had one of the toughest roads to the Super Bowl in
    history, winning as a wild card team with a 12-point underdog, and won a
    magnificent game.

    [[Page 971]]

        I learned that--where's Terrell, where are
    you? [Laughter] I asked him if he thought I would look good in that
    five-button coat. [Laughter] And he said it wasn't Presidential.
    [Laughter] He was--I learned in doing a little research for this event
    that he's the only person to ever win the MVP Award in his hometown and
    the only person ever to score three rushing touchdowns. And not only
    that, he sat out a quarter, as you remember, with a migraine. So that's
    a pretty impressive performance, running behind the lightest but maybe
    the best offensive line in pro football. As you can look up here,
    ``light'' is a relative term. [Laughter]
        There are a lot of things about this team I like. Three of the
    players actually have connections to my home State, which made me feel
    very happy. But I can tell you that maybe the most remarkable thing is
    the loyalty of the community, the steadfastness of John Elway. We're sorry he couldn't be here, and we're glad he's
    okay. Fifteen seasons, over 48,000 yards, and he's the oldest person
    ever to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl. That's like being light;
    ``old'' is a relative term. [Laughter]
        And Coach Shanahan, you've only been there
    3 years, which is a remarkable tribute to your ability, and also to the
    teamwork of this team. I'm sure that every 1,000-yard receiver or 1,500-
    yard rusher or star quarterback who's ever been part of a Super Bowl
    team would say that it's teams that win championships. And a great team
    won this championship. We're honored to have them in the White House
    today.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 6:15 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Paul Tagliabue, commissioner,
    National Football League; Pat Bowlen, owner, Mike Shanahan, coach,
    Terrell Davis, running back, and John Elway, quarterback, Denver
    Broncos; Gov. Roy Romer of Colorado; and Mayor Wellington E. Webb and
    City Councilwoman Ramona Martinez of Denver, CO.