Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 315, introduced earlier today. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be…
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 315, introduced earlier today.
I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any related statements be printed in the Record.
Mr. President, in St. Louis this fall, we had much that was special and different. We had the rally squirrel that ran through one of the playoff games. We had the saying ``happy flight,'' and ``happy flight'' became synonymous with a team that was chocking up improbable victories night after night, day after day.
I am going to term this speech a ``happy speech.'' I have had to give a number of speeches on the floor of the Senate since I have been blessed enough to be given this opportunity to serve my State. Sometimes I come to the floor angry. Sometimes I come to the floor frustrated or upset. Sometimes I come with a passion for a piece of policy that I think is essential in terms of our government operating the way we would want it to operate. Today, I just come happy. I just come happy with the notion that our team provided the kinds of thrills that baseball yearns for in this country--especially at these moments when many families are faced with long days and tough decisions as they try to right the ship as we travel through a very difficult economy.
The 2011 World Series was an unlikely one for our Cardinals. It wasn't supposed to happen. Bookies made a lot of money off the World Series this year because the Cardinals weren't supposed to be in it. The Cardinals were 10\1/2\ games out with 30 days to go. In fact, the Cardinals secured their wild card berth on the last day of the season at the eleventh hour. As a wild card team, they weren't supposed to do well. They weren't supposed to defeat Philadelphia. That just wasn't going to happen. Philadelphia has one of the top three payrolls in baseball, right? That wasn't going to happen.
Well, it did. We won against Philadelphia and then took on the mighty Brewers, the winner of our division, and, of course, we won that also. Then it was on to the Texas Rangers, who were supposed to win this year because they had won last year, and we weren't supposed to be able to compete with the depth and breadth of the Texas lineup. Well, as everyone now knows, that is not how the story ended.
This was a special World Series. It was a unique World Series. It was competitive. It was fun. And I was lucky enough to be at some of the games. In fact, I was at game 3 when Albert Pujols put on a show for the world. He showed everyone why he is the best player in baseball-- three towering home runs in one World Series game. All of a sudden his name was being used in the same sentence as Lou Gehrig.
It was a special night to watch the Cardinals pound the Rangers in Arlington, TX, but the Rangers came back the next night to win and the next night after that. So the Cardinals returned to St. Louis once again with their backs against the wall. Once again, everyone assumed it was over because all the Rangers had to do was win one game. And that is when game 6 occurred. I was fortunate enough to be at game 6, and I am saving my ticket stub for generations to come. People in St. Louis are going to claim they were at game 6, so I am going to save the proof. None of us will ever forget game 6.
At our eleventh hour, trying to win our 11th world championship, in the year 2011, our hometown guy--right from St. Louis, graduated from Lafayette High School--walked to the plate in the 11th inning, after the Cardinals twice, with two outs and two strikes, saved the game by getting a hit--twice; not once but twice--so there we were in the bottom of the 11th with the score tied, and our hometown guy, at the eleventh hour, in the 11th inning, in the year 2011, cracked the bat, and that ball sailed out for a home run, and suddenly we had secured the most improbable and exciting victory in World Series history. Now, maybe that is hyperbole, but, honestly, I don't think so. Find someone who watched that game who knows baseball, and they will tell you that was among one of the very best World Series games in the history of American baseball. And what a history that is. With that one crack of the bat, Cardinal Nation became Cardinal World, and all of the world stood in amazement as we cheered like crazy for our Cardinals.
What did this team do this year? We had a masterful manager whom we will miss very much. We had David Freese, our hometown guy, who rose to the occasion when we needed him. We had Albert Pujols. We had Carp, who was amazing as a pitcher. We had a bullpen that rose to the occasion when necessary, after they had been maligned through most of the season. We had Yadi, we had Craig, and we had so many of our players who did what had to be done when it had to be done to deliver a World Series championship to a city that loves them more than we love the arch and more than we love our beer.
For years now, young people will hear over and over that old cliche about refusing to quit. You can never give up. And I have to tell you the truth, it is a cliche I have used with my kids when they were moping around and grumbling: Oh my life is horrible. You say to them: You can't quit. You can't give up. Well, this team is going to allow parents in St. Louis and beyond for many years to say: See. See what happens when you don't give up. See what happens when you refuse to quit. You can win a championship if you just refuse to die. And that is exactly what our Cardinals did.
On behalf of Cardinal Nation and thousands of people around this country who were proud of what St. Louis represented--a fall classic with our classic Cardinals bringing home the victory for a city that loves them--God bless them all. And God bless the fans who understand it is okay to cheer for a sac fly, who understand baseball better than most fans around the country. They will now wait anxiously for spring training so we can begin once again our love affair with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
