[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 21 (Monday, May 26, 1997)]
[Pages 748-749]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Honoring the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers

May 20, 1997

    Thank you very much. Please be seated. I want to welcome the Green 
Bay Packers and their fans here and send a special welcome to the 
congressional delegation from Wisconsin, Senator Kohl, Senator Feingold, 
the Members of the House. And I see we also have some interlopers from 
Michigan and Minnesota who claim to be the--[laughter]--fans of the 
Packers. It's still snowing in all those places, according to the coach, 
so--[laughter]--you guys have got to stick together.
    I want to thank Robert Harlan and Ron Wolf and Coach Holmgren for 
being here and, of course, Brett and Reggie and the whole team. I got a 
lot of good advice when we were up in the White House having our 
pictures taken from the players about my knee therapy, and I appreciate 
that. What I need is some advice about how to make sure it never happens 
again. [Laughter]
    Congratulations on bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay, 
for the first time in almost 30 years. I had two indications that this 
was going to happen. The first was my very early visit with the Packers 
at the stadium; I could see that this was a team on a mission. The 
second was that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who used to 
be president of a little school in Wisconsin, told me that they were 
bound to win. And I'm glad to see you here, Secretary Shalala. Thank 
you.
    Let me say that, for all of us who are football fans, this was a 
great year because of all the things that the Packers did, including 
having the best Packer defense in 35 years and the best in the NFL. I'd 
like to congratulate Fritz Shurmur and his whole team and say that we're 
glad that you recovered from the injury that you sustained during last 
year's playoffs. And if you want to come here and teach us how to play 
defense in the White House, we need it as bad as the Packers do.
    I congratulate Reggie White on his sacks in the Super Bowl and on 
being the all-time NFL leader in sacks. And I also think the Packers 
offense deserves a lot of credit. Brett Favre won his second consecutive 
NFL MVP award. And I congratulated Antonio Freeman on that 81-yard 
record touchdown catch when I saw him in the line. It was a very 
exciting time, that long pass, the long pass to Andre Rison. And also, 
even though he's not here today, I don't think any of us will ever 
forget that Desmond Howard was the first special teams player ever to be 
a Super Bowl MVP. It was a great Super Bowl by a great team and a team 
effort, and I congratulate you.
    I would also like to say something not just as President but as a 
citizen. In a world where professional athletics becomes, it seems, in 
sport after sport, more and more transient, where players, quite 
properly, have to look out for themselves in what may be a relatively 
short life span as professional athletes and people move from team to 
team and then teams move from town to town, the Green Bay Packers are 
something special, unique, old-fashioned, and heartwarming. The team is 
owned by ordinary citizens from all walks of life. The profits get 
poured back into the team. The players and the coaches have a unique 
relationship with the fans, which all of us who watch the games even on 
television can tell. Whether the fans are lining up in the winter to 
shovel snow so the games can be played or the players are volunteering 
in the community, it really means something to the rest of the country 
to see the relationship between Green Bay and the Packers and to know, 
that come what may, it will be there next year and the year after that 
and the year after that. And I thank you for that. It's a good example 
that the rest of us should remember in all forms of human contests and 
endeavor.
    Let me say, finally, I want to express my admiration for Coach Mike 
Holmgren. He has one of the toughest coaching jobs in the world. Green 
Bay is a wonderful place to be, but the expectations are reasonably 
high. [Laughter] I can't think of anybody who could have done a better 
job in fulfilling the legacy of Vince Lombardi, meeting the expectations 
of the people of Green Bay, and

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creating the kind of atmosphere on this team that is palpable even to an 
outsider: mutual support, teamwork, and always looking out for the 
ultimate goal and the welfare of the team and its success. This 
championship has earned him and his team their rightful place in 
history.
    And Coach, I hope that you will always, always be proud not only of 
the team but of what you were able to do to infuse the kind of spirit 
that it takes to get people to work together and play together through 
the tough times as well as the good times.
    Congratulations to all of you, and welcome again to the White House.

Note: The President spoke at 5:35 p.m. on the South Portico at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to team president Robert Harlan; 
executive vice president and general manager Ron Wolf; head coach Mike 
Holmgren; quarterback Brett Favre; defensive end Reggie White; defensive 
coordinator Fritz Shurmur; wide receivers Antonio Freeman and Andre 
Rison; and punt return specialist Desmond Howard.