[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 22 (Monday, June 7, 1999)]
[Page 1013]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Presenting the Commander in Chief's Trophy to the United 
States Air Force Academy Falcons in Colorado Springs, Colorado

June 2, 1999

    Thank you very much, General Oelstrom, Coach DeBerry, members of the 
team, and family and friends. You know, one of the best things about 
being the President are the things that every President gets to do. I 
mean, every year I turn on the White House Christmas tree; every year I 
give a pardon to a Thanksgiving turkey. You know, there are things you 
do every year. And when the history of our administration is written, I 
will be credited with instituting a new permanent tradition. Every year 
I give the Commander in Chief's Trophy to the Air Force Academy. There 
has been only one lapse in 7 years now. It's been an amazing experience.
    I follow football very closely, and I know a lot of people think 
this is the best Falcon team ever. You won the conference. You had a 
great record, a top-10 finish. You won the conference. You won your bowl 
game, beat Army and Navy by a combined 70 points. I hope the press won't 
report that. [Laughter] I still have a few more trips to make to those 
academies. [Laughter]
    It was a truly amazing thing. And to me, in some ways, the most 
impressive statistic of all was that for 2 years in a row you were, next 
to Ohio State, the second best defensive team in the country. I've 
actually met the Ohio State football team, and they're slightly larger. 
[Laughter] I don't think they could fly jet airplanes--lift them maybe, 
but not fly them.
    So I have really been amazed at the consistency of performance here. 
And I think it's a real tribute not only to the young men but, 
obviously, to the coach and to the spirit and to the idea that 
excellence can be achieved against considerable odds.
    And it's a great honor for me to be here. I congratulate you again. 
And I thank you for making this a tradition. And I think you probably 
cannot imagine how many young athletes there are out there all over 
America who, because you have been able to achieve this level of 
excellence while pursuing a rigorous academic program, a rigorous 
training program, being in this institution of higher education for 
other purposes primarily, there are all kinds of young people who 
believe they can do the same thing. And that's worth a great deal in a 
world where it's not so easy to be young anymore. And I thank you for 
that, too.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 10:37 a.m. in Doolittle Hall at the U.S. 
Air Force Academy. In his remarks, he referred to Lt. Gen. Tab Oelstrom, 
USAF, Superintendent, and Fisher DeBerry, football coach, U.S. Air Force 
Academy.