Congratulating the St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota, football team on winning the 2003 NCAA Division III Football National Championship.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of February 3, 2004, and as the designee of the majority leader, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 493) congratulating the St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota, football team on winning the 2003 NCAA Division III Football National Championship, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate the St. John's University football team from Collegeville, Minnesota on their NCAA Division III National Championship.

The Johnnies were underdogs in the championship game against Mount Union College of Alliance, Ohio on December 20, 2003, because Mount Union entered the game with an NCAA record, a 55-game winning streak, and had won 109 of their 110 previous games.

But as senior wide receiver Blake Elliott, winner of the Gagliardi Trophy said, all it took was 52 guys believing, and believe they did, and so did the other players, students, professors, monks, alums like myself and my family, and proud parents in Minnesota scattered throughout the country and on that frigid field in Virginia.

The Johnnies put on quite a show for the fans of all ages. For the 3 chartered planes full of St. John's faithful who braved the Minnesota- like weather on the East Coast and the many more watching on nationally televised TV, St. John's put on a great game. They finished a perfect 14 and 0 season with a 24-6 victory in the 2003 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the Division III championship game. This team victory capped off a season that also saw Coach John Gagliardi become the all-time winningest football coach in NCAA history, earning him a trip to the White House. This is St. John's fourth national championship in school history, and highlights the tradition that has brought national attention to St. John's and its partner school, the College of St. Benedict in west central Minnesota. They are both exceptional liberal arts schools with a proud Catholic Benedictine tradition.

I am proud to have been able to have followed closely each of the last two St. John's championship seasons. I was a student for the most recent championship in 1976 and now am proud to represent St. John's in my congressional district. As an alum and a fan of St. John's football, I try to make as many games as possible. The alums, professors, monks, local fans, and students alike watched the Johnnies play football in the recently renovated Clemens Stadium, set in a beautiful natural bowl that seats about 5,000 fans; although many more attend the games, like the 13,000 fans that attended the game against Bethel College to break the all-time coach and win record, as anybody who comes to the stadium can get in.

The St. John's tradition is woven into these games, which can become more of a reunion than a mere football game, where fathers and grandfathers who played for St. John's come to watch their sons and grandsons play. Before the game begins, the St. John's men's chorus sings the National Anthem and the Johnny Fight Song, and all former men's chorus singers, including me, get a chance to come down and join in. Every player that goes out for the football team dresses for home games and the sidelines are filled with over 150 players. John Gagliardi joked to me that St. John's is the only team that gets penalties for having 2 players with the same number on the field at the same time, because John plays everyone he can.

But the tradition at St. John's goes well beyond the football team. It extends to the classrooms and to the monastery. Players are expected to be student athletes and many of them go on to success in a wide variety of their chosen careers. In fact, during John's 51 years coaching at St. John's, no player has failed to graduate, and most do so in 4 years.

Student life at St. John's is intertwined with the monastery life, as many of the resident directors and the professors are monks living at the on-campus monastery. Monks attend the games and are said to, on more than one occasion, tell the coaching staff that if the players just get the ball close enough, they will pray it in. This partnership shows the camaraderie, team spirit, and drive that leads to the success that is alive and the students that play football for St. John's year after year, and it is one we celebrate here today.

Therefore, I once again congratulate the players, coaches, parents, and all of those associated with St. John's on the team's national championship and encourage the House to pass this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order at any time on Wednesday February 4, 2004, for the majority leader or his designee to call up the following resolutions: H. Res. 493, H. Res. 496, H. Res. 497, H. Res. 498, H. Res. 511, H. Res. 512, and H. Con. Res. 355; and each resolution be considered as read and the previous question be considered as ordered on each resolution to final adoption without intervening motion except (1) 1 hour of debate and (2) one motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit this statement for the Record and regret that I was unavoidably detained on Monday, December 8, 2003, during rollcall vote Nos. 672 and 673 on H. Res. 493, a resolution waiving a requirement of clause 6(a) of rule XIII with respect to consideration of certain resolutions reported from the Committee on Rules. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall vote No. 672 and ``nay'' on rollcall vote No. 673.