[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 29 (Monday, July 26, 1999)]
[Pages 1405-1406]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Honoring the 1999 Women's World Cup Champion United States 
Soccer Team

July 19, 1999

    The President. Good morning. Please be seated. Hillary and Al and 
Tipper and I are delighted to welcome all of you here, the members of 
the team, the Members of Congress, who are here. We want to welcome 
Marla Messing, the president of the Women's World Cup; Donna de Varona, 
the chairman of the Women's World Cup Organizing Committee. Thank you 
and--yes, give them a hand. [Applause] And we want to welcome this 
remarkable team. They are all here, but two, today; that's an amazing 
turnout. Give them a hand. [Applause]
    We all know this is both a moment of celebration and a moment of 
sadness for the United States, and our thoughts and prayers are with the 
families of John Kennedy and 
Carolyn and Lauren Bessette. It is at times like this that we really 
stop to recognize that, as big and diverse as our country is, we can 
come together as a national family. We can come together in sorrow or in 
joy if it reflects the values that we honor most.
    This is one of those moments. The Women's World Cup champions, here 
at the White House, brought America to its feet, had us screaming our 
lungs out with pride and joy. They also didn't spare us the suspense. 
[Laughter] But their triumph has surely become America's triumph. We are 
all proud them, and we are thrilled to have them here at the White House 
today.
    As someone who got to watch the game at the Rose Bowl, who sat so 
far on the edge of my seat I actually almost fell out of the skybox, I 
can't help recalling just a few moments of that game. Kristine Lilly 
heading away what would have been a game-winning goal for the other 
side, in overtime. She's not here, but I have to mention Michelle Akers 
charging up and down until she collapsed from shear exhaustion. The 
perfectly timed leap Briana Scurry made to the left to block China's 
third penalty kick.
    I might say, I saw the last three games, and I concluded that if I 
had to do it all over again, I'd like to be a goalie. [Laughter] No 
pressure. [Laughter]
    And of course, Brandi Chastain's perfect shot right into the top 
right corner of the goal to win the World Cup.
    The day after the game, a lot of us who aren't so young anymore were 
trying to search the whole cluttered attic of our memories to try to 
think if there was ever a time when there had been a more exciting 
climax to an athletic event that meant as much to so many. I'm not sure 
that in my lifetime there has been. It's no wonder that so many young 
girls like Stefaney Howell here are following the lead of our World Cup 
champions.
    Over a half million girls and young women have begun playing soccer 
in the 8 years since America won the World Cup in 1991. Thanks to these 
women, America's passion for women's soccer and women's sports in

[[Page 1406]]

general is growing, and we owe them a lot for that.
    I also can't help mentioning briefly, again, the role that Title IX 
has played in all this, and for all of you who have supported it, I 
thank you very much. I can say this: For the Clintons and the Gores, the 
proud parents of daughters, it is always a wonderful thing to see women 
finding new ways of expressing their God-given talents and abilities. 
Because what we want for our children is what I think all Americans want 
for all of our children, whether they're girls or boys, which is a 
chance to find their way and to follow their dreams.
    These women have sent a signal, loud and clear, to millions and 
millions and millions of girls that they can follow their dreams. And I 
thank them for that.
    Now, you will be happy to know I have exercised some leadership 
today--it's over 90 degrees out here, and I cut my speech in half. 
[Laughter] Who's next? Are you next? I don't know who's next--I think 
Hillary is next, the First Lady.

[At this point, the First Lady, DC SCORES youth soccer program 
participant Stefaney Howell, Tipper Gore, Vice President Al Gore, and 
team co-captain Julie Foudy made brief remarks. Team co-captain Carla 
Overbeck then presented several gifts to the Clintons and Gores.]

    The President. You have all been very patient in this warm, hot sun. 
I want to, again, say thank you all for coming. Thank you for supporting 
America's soccer team. I want to thank the women on the team. I would be 
remiss if I did not say, also, how profoundly impressed I was at the 
quality of their opposition.
    You know, when we had the last NCAA men's basketball championship, 
and UConn beat Duke, the Duke coach said something I think every coach 
would like to say. He said, ``We did not lose this game; we were 
defeated.'' The German team, the Chinese team, the Brazilian team--they 
can honestly say that, too. And this is something happening all over the 
world, for which I am very grateful. And again, I am very grateful that 
our women are leading the way.
    Thank you very much. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:12 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Marla Messing, president and chief 
executive officer, 1999 Women's World Cup Organizing Committee; and Duke 
University men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. The President also 
referred to Title IX--Prohibition of Sex Discrimination, part of the 
Education Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92-318).