Congratulating the New England Patriots for winning Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the unanimous consent request of February 3, 2004, I call up the Resolution (H. Res. 512) congratulating the New England Patriots for winning Super Bowl XXXVIII, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, before I yield myself such time as I may consume, for purposes of debate only, I yield 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank).

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) for sponsoring this resolution saluting the New England Patriots in their second Super Bowl championship in the last 3 years, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

It is indeed an honor to be able to stand here tonight, Mr. Speaker, and talk not only as a fan but as a person from New England about what it means to our region to be able to salute these New England Patriots. We are always grateful in New England, having rooted for the Red Sox for so long and witnessed so many heartbreaking seasons, for well- coached, well-run, well-organized teams that win and bring home the ring.

So many individuals need to be saluted, but it is important to note that when we talk about the New England Patriots, we talk about teamwork. We talk about cooperation. We talk about individuals in high- profile positions subverting themselves to the greater good of the team, and that has always been the history of this team that had to recover from injuries, that had to recover from the loss of major free agents at the beginning of the season and still, despite those setbacks, were able to win.

But it is also important for us to note several individuals that have made not only this season possible, but others in the past. It starts with the ownership of the New England Patriots. Mr. Bob Kraft and his sons have just done a tremendous job bringing back first-class football to New England and keeping the franchise in Massachusetts. And were it not for the Kraft ownership and all of the things that they have done to make this possible, we would not be seeing that success today.

The coaching staff led by Bill Belichick has done just a stupendous job of putting together unique individuals and making the team function as something that is greater than the sum of all of the parts.

But Bill Belichick cannot do it by himself. He has a tremendous staff in the front office all the way down to the trainers and the people that work in public relations. From the top to bottom, the Patriots' organization is a tremendously well-run organization. The players are, bar none, the best team in the league. And when Adam Vinatieri kicked that field goal, even though he had missed 2 already that afternoon, you knew that he was going to kick the third one and that we would win again.

Also, in need of being saluted are long time announcers Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti, the voices of the New England Patriots who for many, many years kept the faith alive.

And perhaps the most important people that need to be celebrated are the fans of New England who have never given up on their team not only this year but for the last several years and braved the coldest of cold weather, the snowiest of snowy days, and were outnumbering the Carolina fans in Houston last week by 100 to 1.

But as we celebrate the Patriots, let us also not forget the fine teams that they beat all year, starting with the Carolina Panthers who no one gave a chance to be successful in the Super Bowl last week who played a tremendous game. It was one of the greatest games in the history of the National Football League.

The Patriots also beat two other fine teams in the playoffs: the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans and had a tremendous regular season where they won 12 in a row and then three playoff games. Hopefully, we will continue this next year and do it one game at a time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume and thank my colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan) for giving that wonderful description of the Patriots and the fact that he was one of the brave 70,000 people that braved well below zero weather to root on the Patriots against the Tennessee Titans.

Once again, Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest games in Super Bowl history. We all from New England, fans, everyone all across the spectrum of New England salute our Patriots.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan).

Mr. Speaker, he is very right. I wear it all the time as I climb 4,000-foot mountains. I urge passage of this resolution.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. Frank, and the gentleman from New Hampshire, Mr. Bradley, for bringing this resolution honoring the New England Patriots for their Superbowl victory to the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, I want to offer my own congratulations to the Patriots for winning Superbowl XXXVIII, their 2nd championship in 3 years. The team has come together again this year, and proven to us that they truly are World Champions.

While some around the Nation may know of our quarterback, Tom Brady, the majority of players on our team are not the superstars found in other cities across the country. However, we in New England know Troy Brown, Tedy Bruschi and Ty Law, not just for their individual accomplishments but for what they are a part of--a team.

Mr. Speaker, Coach Bill Belichick said it best when he reminded the faithful fans that the players ``gave up a little of their individuality'' for the greater goal. ``That's what they did, and that's why they're champions.'' They have demonstrated to us and the rest of the world that winning a title isn't about statistics and breaking records, but instead about team work and focus.

In addition to the Patriots' coaches and players, the team is guided by a terrific management team. Robert and Jonathan Kraft have worked tirelessly to build a strong organization and they also deserve praise today.

I want to thank each and every player and coach on the team for showing their fans, the country and the world, that old-fashioned teamwork comes out ahead. Congratulations to the New England Patriots and to their fans.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bradley) for yielding. And when I was over at my office and you were praising the fans who had braved the cold weather those two playoff games, I said he must be talking about me. I have been a season ticket holder since 1986. So I wanted to come to the floor and join you in giving credit to this outstanding organization.

And the interesting thing about it is when Robert Kraft and his family bought this franchise, they were literally headed to St. Louis. In fact, the Kraft family could have made a lot of money simply by allowing a group of investors from St. Louis to buy out his interest in the stadium and in the contract that the team had with the stadium at that time.

I also want to congratulate the Kraft family for the outstanding organization that they have set up, and also Coach Belichick. It is interesting there are a lot of people that criticize Bob Kraft, who went out and gave up draft choices in order to get Bill Belichick away from the New York Jets. And a lot of my colleagues who were Jets fans thought they had gotten a great deal because they got draft choices.

And Bill Belichick has done an outstanding job in terms of fostering team work. This is a team that gets introduced before games as a team. I think all of us see in professional sports a lot of things that we do not necessarily like, the sort of ``me generation'' of individuals getting all the credit. That does not happen on this team. And I think that sports leagues across America could learn a lot by looking at the success of this team, the fact that so few players made the Pro Bowl.

And, finally, the individual players on that team, starting with their quarterback, they exemplify the best. I know I had an opportunity to be at the White House when Tom Brady was there. A lot of people thought it was a political thing. It was not a political thing. The Patriots players contribute to the community. They are involved in the community day in and day out. And I was proud that Tom Brady was here that evening for the State of the Union.

And I am looking at next year. As my colleague acknowledged, we have two picks in the first round, two picks in the second round, one pick in third round, and two picks in the fourth round. It seems to me that we have the opportunity to have a top-notch team each and every year.

I probably have more information that we could go on. But I am glad that this resolution is before the House.

Mr. Speaker, I want to make the point that one of the reasons why I was able to brave the cold weather was because I was wearing Malden Mills Polar Tec, which is a great product that you and I have worked together to try to help that company. That is why I was so warm during those games because I had Malden Mills Polar Tec, manufactured right in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend from New Hampshire for his graciousness in yielding to me, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am glad to be along with him and many of our colleagues from New England cosponsoring this resolution congratulating the New England Patriots on their second Super Bowl title in 3 years.

I have said this before, Mr. Speaker. In the profession which we have chosen and are lucky enough to have had some success in, we sometimes find ourselves being blamed for things that are not our fault. But those occasions are offset by those times when we can bathe in entirely unearned glory.

The New England Patriots, as they now are, are an excellent team that did a superb job, well coached; they dealt with injuries, they held together, compiled a superb record. And those who represent New England in Congress get to stand up here and bathe in their glory. I am grateful to them for winning the championship and for the fact that we can do that.

I do not think politicians ought to insinuate ourselves into professional sports. It has been my experience that at professional sports events, the needed ones are the fans. So we are not trying to do that. What we are doing jointly is to pay our respects to a group of very dedicated, hardworking young men.

Let us be clear. To do what any professional football team does, particularly to do what the Patriots do, requires a degree of discipline and dedication and willingness to do hard physical work in very adverse weather conditions. They are very well coached. The ownership of the team deserves credit.

I will make just one political point. I am very proud to note that the stadium in which they won so many of their games and from which they went out to win the Super Bowl championship, in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts that I represent, was not built with public money. This is an indication that there is no need to go to the taxpayers to get money to build public stadiums. There is an ability to do that when a team is well-run and well-managed and well-owned by private capital.

So I really want just again to say how proud the people, not just of the town of Foxborough or my district or northern Massachusetts are, but all over New England, as my colleague from New Hampshire makes clear, because as the team is the New England Patriots, we had to import somebody from New Hampshire, because Massachusetts is incapable at this point just technically of bipartisanship on our own. But I really appreciate the gentleman from New Hampshire's cooperation, and congratulations to the New England Patriots for doing an important thing so well.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to rise in support of H. Res. 512, congratulating the New England Patriots for winning Super Bowl XXXVIII. The Patriots victory is again cause for celebration on both coasts as fans in San Mateo, California and the San Francisco Peninsula join in celebrating native son Tom Brady, the MVP Quarterback for the Super Bowl champion Patriots.

Under the glaring lights of Reliant Stadium in Houston, and before an estimated worldwide audience of one billion viewers, Tommy Brady, as he is known in San Mateo, showed the remarkable poise and the expert leadership that his teammates and Patriot fans have come to expect. He calmly guided his team down the field toward Super Bowl victory in what may have been the greatest Super Bowl of all time.

In fact, during the game's final drive, with the game tied, and under what must have been great pressure, Tom Brady rose to the task by completing four out of five passes to set up the game-winning field goal.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to support this legislation as well as to pay tribute to Tom Brady, who from his days of flag football on Portola Drive in San Mateo, to the fields at Juniperro Serra High, to the University of Michigan, to the National Football League and being named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXXVI and XXXVIII, has always played with confidence and charisma and found success at every level. It is obvious from watching Tom Brady play that he truly loves the game of football. He always smiles, and his enthusiasm and confidence is infectious to his team. As one of his wide receivers said, ``You can't say enough about that kid. He has a tremendous amount of confidence, and it rubs off on everyone else.''

Now, only 26 years of age, and the youngest quarterback to have two Super Bowl MVP awards and two Super Bowl Championship rings, fans around the league anxiously await his future accomplishments. His stellar performances as well as uncanny ability to guide his teams to come from behind victories has reminded many of another quarterback with Bay area ties, former San Francisco 49er and Hall of Famer, Joe Montana.

On behalf of the city of San Mateo and football fans everywhere, I wish him continued success in his already remarkable career and strongly urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H. Res. 512.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the New England Patriots on their thrilling victory in Super Bowl XXXVIII. In a season of tremendous adversity marked by difficult early-season losses and numerous injuries, this team displayed the values of hardwork and determination that so epitomize the region from which they hail. After beginning their season with a heart-breaking defeat at the hands of the intra-division rival Buffalo Bills, the Patriots went on to win all but one of their next fifteen games, including a franchise-record twelve- game winning streak. Ignoring the seemingly relentless skeptics, the Patriots defeated a hard-nosed Tennessee Titan team and halted the high-octane Indianapolis Colts to gain a spot on the world's biggest stage in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

One again relying on the leadership of quarterback Tom Brady and the steady foot of kicker Adam Vinatieri for last-second heroics, the Patriots defeated a stubborn Carolina Panther team to earn their second Super Bowl victory in the past three years. Abiding by the values of teamwork and perseverance instilled by head coach Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots are an example to all Americans of what it means to be a true champion. In addition, I would particularly like to congratulate Mike Cloud, a resident of Rhode Island, on being part of a team that makes all of New England proud.

I hope our colleagues will join me in congratulating the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.