For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 7, 2001
President Bush Meets with the 2001 Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens
East Room
Listen to the President's Remarks
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THE PRESIDENT: Thank
you. Please be seated. It seems like we drew
quite a crowd here today. It's been a big day here at the
White House. I got to sign the most significant tax relief
in a generation. (Applause.) Recycling a few tax families
here. (Laughter.) Then, of course, I get the high
honor of welcoming the Super Bowl champs, the Baltimore Ravens.
(Applause.)
First, I do want to thank the members of the
United States Congress from the state of Maryland who are
here. It seems like they have got a particular interest in
this event. Thank you all for coming. Cardinal,
thank you for being here, as well. With you on the side of
the Ravens, I can now understand why teams like the Cowboys didn't do
very well. (Applause.)
Art, welcome, and
congratulations. As some of you may know, or don't know, I
used to be an owner in the professional leagues. It happened
to be in baseball. I never had the thrill of receiving a
trophy like you and your family have done. It's a great
tribute to good ownership, to win a trophy such as this. And
I congratulate you for being here. And I congratulate you
for putting together a fine organization. Big Ozzie,
congratulations, sir. I'm your
age. (Laughter.) You look younger. (Laughter.)
I also want to congratulate the
coach. Brian, it's good to see you again. I think
the players know this, that you can't win a championship without a good
coach, without a good leader. And it's pretty hard to
inspire a group of strong-headed great athletes -- (laughter) -- but
you did. I congratulate you.
I want to congratulate all the players who are
here. And I want to congratulate your families,
too. It's sometimes not easy to be the wife of a football
player or a baseball player. There's a lot of time away from
home. And while the players, of course, deserve the great
credit for winning on the field, the wives deserve a lot of credit,
too, by standing behind the players. So congratulate to the
family members.
This is a team that is blessed by five native
-- having five native Texans on the
team. (Laughter.) Very wise of
you. (Laughter.) So to my fellow Texans, welcome
to the White House, it's good to see you. (Laughter.)
A couple of points I want to
make. First, I realize it's been 30 years since the Lombardi
Trophy rested in Baltimore, Maryland. It's clear by bringing
it back home, Art, that you have indelibly etched your team and your
style and the team's culture on the hearts of the people of Baltimore.
I also want to use this opportunity -- as you
know, I'm going over to Europe, and one of the discussions there in
Europe will be about defense -- (laughter) -- Senator
Sarbanes. (Laughter.) I think our allies need to
look at the Baltimore Ravens. (Laughter.) They'll
realize good defense wins. A good defense is one which
adjusts to the times. A good defense is modern. A
good defense is clear.
And if Secretary Rumsfeld gets tired of his
job, Secretary Marvin Lewis sounds pretty
good. (Laughter.) Secretary of
Defense. (Laughter.)
At any rate, congratulations for
winning. I also want to congratulate Michale
McCrary. I do, because he recently received the NFL Players
Association Highest Honor of Humanity Achievement. That's
important. It's important to be a champ on the field and
it's important to be a champ off the field. And, Michael, I
want to thank you for your work with the Special Olympics.
I don't know if any of you have ever had a
chance to go to see the Special Olympics, but if you do, and somebody
offers you a chance to be a hugger -- which means you're standing on
the other side of the finish line to hug somebody who comes running
across -- do it. It touches your heart. And, Michael, thank
you for that. And thank you for setting a good example.
Thank you all for coming to the White
House. Thanks for being champs. And on behalf of the
American people, I congratulate you. (Applause.)
END 2:33
P.M. EDT
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