[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
[April 13, 2005]
[Pages 591-593]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Honoring the 2005 Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots
April 13, 2005

    The President. Thank you all. Please be seated. Welcome. Well, back 
again. [Laughter] I was thinking that Coach Belichick was so comfortable coming to the Rose Garden that he 
might just wear one of those designer sweatshirts. [Laughter] I'm a 
little disappointed. [Laughter] I'm glad to see you own a tie, though.
    I want to welcome----
    Head Coach Bill Belichick. Is this a 
roast? [Laughter]
    The President. Yes. I want to welcome the 
Krafts back. Congratulations once again. 
Obviously, this club has got fine ownership, and you know how to run a 
team. Welcome back.
    And obviously, you know how to coach. I'm pretty impressed with the 
way you handle yourself. I think some of us involved in the political 
arena could spend a little time getting tutelage on how to handle the 
mike like you do. [Laughter]
    I want to welcome members of my Cabinet who are here. Thank you for 
coming. Alphonso, I thought, like, 
you're a Cowboy fan or something. What are you doing here, you know? 
[Laughter]
    Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso 
Jackson. [Inaudible]
    The President. Oh, thank you, sir.
    The Secretary of Agriculture is with us.
    We appreciate so very much Senator Kennedy and Senator Kerry. Welcome. 
Marty Meehan--I'm glad you all are here. 
Thanks for coming. I'm surprised more of the delegation hasn't come, 
but, you know, Red Sox one week, Patriots the next--it's getting to be 
old hat here. But glad you all are here.
    Tedy Bruschi, it's good to see you. I 
congratulate you on showing such incredible courage on the field and off 
the field. There's a lot of people that were praying for you, I know. 
And I'm glad you're feeling good, and I'm glad you're back. You look 
great.
    I want to welcome all the staff, the coaches who are here. Last time 
I didn't pay much attention to the managers and the people passing out 
the equipment, so I'd like to pay special tribute to the people who do 
all the work in the locker room and probably never get recognized except 
by the players, who love you. So welcome to the White House, and welcome 
to the Rose Garden.
    I want to say a special welcome to all the Patriots fans from around 
the DC area. I see some from New Hampshire who have come as well, and 
Boston. And you're welcome. Glad you're here. You're honoring a team 
that showed a lot of heart.
    You know, the commentators would say, well, they're not the 
flashiest bunch; they're not the fanciest bunch; they just happen to be 
the best team. They're the team that showed that when you play together, 
when you serve something greater than yourself, you win.

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    I'm sorry your fieldgoal kicker is not 
here. You're probably sorry you didn't have to use him this year to win. 
But I do wish Adam all the best with the birth of their second child. He 
has got an excused absence.
    One of the things about this club is you set a lot of records. You 
know, in sports, they always talk about, records are made to be broken. 
Let me talk about some of the records of the New England Patriots. In 
back-to-back championship seasons, you've won 34 games. That's a record. 
You've won nine straight playoff games, which ties a record. The coach 
has the best playoff record in league history. This is a club that has 
won 20 games in a row in the home park. If you're going to win 20 games, 
it's probably good to do it in your home stadium, you know. It tends to 
make the fans want to come back--doesn't it, Marty?
    I appreciate the inspiration you've shown for the region--inspired 
the Red Sox. I think the Patriots have also inspired the Celtics. But 
whatever is happening in New England, it's a pretty strong sports 
record, anchored by the great New England Patriots, champs 3 out of 4 
years.
    And so, welcome back. We're glad you're here. I want to thank you 
for what you've done off the field. I did so the last time you were 
here; I want to do it again. I want to thank you for the importance that 
you've shown for education and literacy. I appreciate the example that 
you've set for kids. I want to thank you for working in youth football. 
I want to thank you for supporting the Boys and Girls Clubs of 
Massachusetts. There's nothing better than encouraging mentoring to help 
save a child's life. And as a pro football champion, you have an 
opportunity to do just that.
    I appreciate Larry Izzo. He went to 
Rice, as I understand it. Is that right? Yes, Rice University in 
Houston, Texas. Guess what he did? He went overseas to the USO--the Pat 
Tillman USO in Afghanistan. And I want to thank you for doing that. Is 
it Izzo or ``Eyezo?''
    Linebacker Larry Izzo. Izzo.
    The President. Yes. Well, if you're from Texas, you say ``Eyezo,'' 
and if you're from--[laughter].
    Mr. Izzo. It sounds good to me.
    The President. If you're from Massachusetts, it's Izzo. At least I got Rice right. [Laughter]
    I also want to thank you all for going by Walter Reed and the 
National Naval Medical Center here in Washington. I think you saw 
firsthand the definition of courage when you saw those young soldiers 
who had been wounded that are working hard to overcome their injuries. I 
can assure you that your visit helped lift their spirits. There's 
nothing better than a Super Bowl champ encouraging somebody to continue 
to work hard to recover. And I want to, again, thank you for that. Thank 
you for your example.
    I once again welcome you back. You know, I think I said last time 
there's a chance you'll be back. I wasn't sure about me. [Laughter] I'm 
confident I'll be back next year--[laughter]--and the way you've been 
playing, there's a good chance you will be too. Congratulations, and 
welcome.

Note: The President spoke at 3:35 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Robert Kraft, chairman and owner, 
Jonathan Kraft, vice chairman, Tedy Bruschi, linebacker, and Adam 
Vinatieri, kicker, New England Patriots.

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