    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [March 12, 2002]
    [Pages 387-388]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Honoring NCAA Champion Teams
    March 12, 2002

        Thank you all. Welcome. I like a good, short introduction.
    [Laughter] Thanks, Chris, for being here. I
    appreciate you hosting this, and welcome to the White House.
        We have never had so many champions inside a room in the White House
    history, so thank you for making history, not only on--when you won the
    championship but being here as well. It's such an honor to welcome you
    here. It's an unimaginable honor to live here and to share this with
    people from all around the country. This is the people's house. This
    isn't our house; it's the people's house. And we're glad you're able to
    see it, and we're glad to herald champs as well.
        I love to talk about champs. I love to talk about winning and
    setting high standards and working hard to achieve those standards. And
    that's exactly what you all have done, and I really want to congratulate
    you.
        I want to welcome Elaine Chao, who is the
    Secretary of Labor, who is here, and Mel Martinez, who is the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
    They have got something at stake: One's from Kentucky; one's from
    Florida. [Laughter] Jim Bunning is here, who
    knows something about athletics himself--he's a Hall of Fame pitcher--
    fine United States Senator from Kentucky; Jim Kolbe from Arizona; and Ernie Fletcher from Kentucky as well. Thank you all for coming.
        I saw Donna Shalala the other day at an
    event, and she must have a pretty good touch. [Laughter] After all, she
    becomes the president, and they win two national championships.
    Congratulations. Welcome back to the White House, and thank you for your
    service to the country. I appreciate Peter Likins, from the University of Arizona, for being here as well.
    Where's Peter? Thank you for coming, sir. I appreciate you being here.
    Father Paul Locatelli from Santa Clara
    University, thank you, Father, for coming. I appreciate you being here.
    And of course, we've mentioned the coaches and the captains.
        Before we go have our picture taken, I do want to say a few comments
    about our country. First of all, we defend freedom, and we'll continue
    to defend freedom to make sure that our children and grandchildren can
    grow up in a free world. You know, the enemy, when they hit America,
    didn't understand us. They didn't think we were a nation that could
    conceivably sacrifice for something greater than ourself, that we were
    soft, that we were so self-absorbed and so materialistic that we
    wouldn't defend anything we believed in. My, were they wrong. They
    missed--they just were reading the wrong magazine or watching the wrong
    Springer show. [Laughter]
        They didn't understand America, and what they really don't
    understand is the nature of people who care about our society. They
    don't realize we're a compassionate nation.
        And so I hope the champs who are here understand that with being a
    champion, you

    [[Page 388]]

    have a responsibility, a responsibility to uphold an example to others.
    You probably know this; I don't need to tell you this. But when you're
    playing baseball at the University of Miami, there's some little eighth-
    grade kid watching your every move, trying to figure out, you know, how
    cool he can be. If you're a star volleyball player at Stanford,
    somebody's watching; or from Santa Clara, there's some young child,
    young girl watching what it means to be a champ. And you have a
    responsibility as a champ to make the right choices and to set a clear
    example for others.
        And we all have a responsibility to love a neighbor like we'd like
    to be loved ourself. We've got a strong military here in America, and
    that's good. That's how we're going to make sure our homeland is secure,
    by using our military. But we can all stand up in the face of this evil,
    collectively stand up, by doing something good in our society.
        I hope the athletes understand that. I hope you understand that you
    have a responsibility as a champ not only to set the right example but
    to love a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself. You have a
    fantastic opportunity as champs to help define the character of America,
    to help say loud and clear that we will not tolerate evil and that we
    will--the collective good will of our country, the gathering momentum of
    millions of acts of kindness will define the very nature of America,
    that we will stand strong against evil by the collective goodness of our
    country. You've shown that on the playing fields, and I want to
    congratulate you for being strong and great athletes. Show it on the
    field of life, as well, and America will be a better place.
        It's such an honor to welcome you here. May God bless your futures,
    may God bless your talent, and may God bless America. Thank you for
    coming.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:42 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Chris Fowler, reporter, ESPN, who
    introduced the President; Donna E. Shalala, president, University of
    Miami; Peter Likins, president, University of Arizona; and Father Paul
    Locatelli, president, Santa Clara University. The President honored the
    University of Arizona women's softball team, the University of Kentucky
    cheerleaders, the University of Miami baseball and football teams, the
    University of North Carolina men's soccer team, the Santa Clara
    University women's soccer team, and the Stanford University women's
    volleyball team.