[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
[April 30, 2008]
[Pages 607-609]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks Honoring the 2008 Super Bowl Champion New York Giants
April 30, 2008
The President. Welcome. It's my honor. Thank you for coming. Please
be seated. Welcome to the White House. It's an honor to recognize the
Super Bowl champs, the New York football Giants.
I appreciate you all coming. Mr. Vice President, thank you for joining me up here as we welcome the
Giants to the South Lawn. I want to thank John Mara and his mom Ann, who's joined us;
Steve Tisch and his mother Joan; of course, their head football coach, Tom
Coughlin, and his wife Judy. He got the extension; that's a good thing. [Laughter]
Makes it a little easier to be standing up here. [Laughter]
I appreciate all the players who have joined us today and the
coaches and the personnel that make the club function.
I thank members of my administration who have joined us. I welcome
Members of the Congress, Senate, particularly from New Jersey and New
York, State elected officials from New Jersey and New York--that's a
good thing to be here.
I welcome those from Walter Reed who have joined us today. And of
course, welcome to all the Giants fans. [Applause] Behave yourselves.
[Laughter]
First, it's good to be up here with the Super Bowl MVP, Eli
Manning. We have a few things in common.
[Applause] We got some things in common. Eli has a father and a brother in
the same business he's in. [Laughter] Sometimes the press are skeptical.
[Laughter] And he just survived a big wedding. So I asked him coming in,
``Any advice?'' He said, ``I wasn't father of the bride.'' [Laughter]
New York Giants have one of the great storied histories of--in pro
football. And this club carried on that great tradition. And perhaps--
many would say this is probably the most exciting chapter ever written
in the New York Giants' football history. After all, you started off the
season and allowed 80 points in the first two games. That would be
called a lousy start. [Laughter] And then you're playing the Redskins--
--
Audience members. Boo!
The President. It's okay, you know. [Laughter] And the game wasn't
going very well, as I recall. And then you rallied, and you won.
And a lot of the people that know something about football said that
was the turning point. And the winning streak--what's interesting is--
six straight games, as I understand, on two different continents. You
also had a great road record. I don't know if the fans understand this,
but you piled up more away-game victories than--in NFL history. And the
good news is, your fans still loved you at home. [Laughter] They really
loved you.
You got into the--you secured a wild card. And it was interesting,
in the last game of the season, a lot of folks thought the
coach would just kind of lay down and let New
England cruise to a perfect season--I remember a lot of people
speculating about that last game of the season--and yet you didn't,
Coach. Your team didn't win on the scoreboard, but you won the hearts of
a lot of Americans for contesting the game. And you also--your team--
[applause]--and it clearly gave your team some self-confidence, because
you stormed through Tampa Bay and then went into Dallas----
Audience members. [Applause]
The President. Okay, look, I'm a good sport. [Laughter] We're going
to send Jessica Simpson to the Democrat
National Convention. [Laughter]
Packers was one of the coldest games in NFL history. You lit up the
field like you were on fire. And Lawrence Tynes, who's with us here, came through with a 47-yard
fieldgoal in overtime, putting you
[[Page 608]]
in Super Bowl XLII. Yes, I knew you were going to make it. [Laughter] I
don't know if everybody else did, but I knew you were going to make it.
And you knew you were going to make it.
Lawrence Tynes. I did.
The President. And all of a sudden, a 0-2 team was about to square
off against the 18-0 New England Patriots. Now they've got a lot of
experts in our society--Coach, you might know
what I'm talking about--and in looking back, it's hard to find many of
the experts who predicted a Giants victory. Most people were calling it
a cakewalk; you know, be prepared to turn off your television sets early
because this isn't much of a game you're about to watch; when, in fact,
it turned out to be really one of the great, legendary football games in
our country's history.
First of all, your defense was awesome, Coach, and they deserve a lot of credit. And so does your
offense. It was the 83-yard comeback drive in the fourth quarter that a
lot of folks will remember for a long time coming. Eli Manning started one of the great plays called the Great Escape;
it ended on David Tyree's helmet. [Laughter] So,
like, I'm going to take you in the White House, and you can show me how
you did it. [Laughter] And then Plaxico Burress, of course, caught the winning touchdown with 35
seconds left.
This is a great team that worked together. You won the Vince
Lombardi Trophy, and you won the deep gratitude of the 1972 Miami
Dolphins. [Laughter]
First of all, you've won the gratitude of your fans. New York Giants
fans love these Giants. So we congratulate you all, but we're also
congratulating your families, your loved ones, those who make the locker
room work, the trainers, the people who clean up after you. We want to--
we know you played for some--ones who lost loved ones, like the Tyrees
and the Maras and the Tisches. I know you loved going down the Canyon of
Heroes for the first ticker-tape parade since before the attacks of
September the 11th, 2001. And I guarantee you, there was a lot of New
York firefighters and police who were really thrilled to see you.
I like the fact that this team, the coaches and players, offer free
camps for kids. Some of them run life-changing ministries. They raise
money for children who have cancer. This is a team that supports the
Ronald McDonald House and the United Way, promotes family literacy
through Read Across America. It's even helped run a charter school
program in inner-city Newark.
I appreciate the fact, Coach, that you and
your players support our troops, but more importantly, our troops
appreciate the fact that you support them. You've come to know the story
like I have of Lieutenant Colonel Greg Gadson. He lost both of his legs while in Iraq. He first met
up with the Giants in September, when you invited him to address a
pregame meeting that helped inspire the comeback over the Redskins.
Then you saw him in Tampa, when he was
trying out his legs that he walked on today to be on the stage with you.
He was an honorary captain in Green Bay. He never left the sidelines,
despite the 23-below windchill. In your last team meeting before the
Super Bowl, Lieutenant Colonel Greg Gadson urged you to have pride in
your team and believe in yourselves, which is exactly what you did.
I'm proud to be on the stage with this man. To me, it's a symbol of your respect for our country
and your patriotism that you would let Greg Gadson be a part of this
team. He has got the Purple Heart and three Bronze Stars, and now he's
got a Super Bowl ring minted for a true ``giant.''
So while you're still on your feet: The Super Bowl New York Giants.
Note: The President spoke at 3:14 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White
House. In his
[[Page 609]]
remarks, he referred to John K. Mara, president and chief executive
officer, Steven Tisch, co-owner, Lawrence Tynes, kicker, and Plaxico
Burress, wide receiver, New York Giants; E. Archibald Manning III,
father, and Peyton Manning, brother, of Eli Manning, quarterback, New
York Giants; and entertainer Jessica Simpson. The transcript released by
the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of New York
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin.