The Patriot Act
THE PATRIOT ACT -- (Senate - December 16, 2005)
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. BURR. Mr. President, we will learn tonight that being No. 1 doesn't mean that you win, and being the largest doesn't mean you are the best. In fact, North Carolina pork chops are better than Iowa pork chops, and North Carolina football is, in most cases, as good if not better than Iowa football.
I commend the Northern Iowa Panthers. They have had a miraculous season. They deserve to be in the championship game based on how they performed in the second half of the season.
Appalachian State was ranked fifth by the Sporting News and fourth by ESPN/USA Today in the I-AA polls. Appalachian has a record of 11-3, and they have reached the I-AA semifinals now for the third time. They did it in 1987, 2000, and now in 2005. But they have never reached the championship game until this year.
This is a magical year for Appalachian State. Over 10,000 of my constituents will make the trek today to Chattanooga, TN, for tonight's football game. I remind my good friend, Senator Harkin, that almost all of the tickets turned back in by the Northern Iowa Panthers were purchased by North Carolina constituents who will be at that game.
Appalachian State advanced to the championship game with a 29-23 victory over rival Furman University. Appalachian took the lead with 2 minutes 17 seconds left, with an 11-play, 67-yard drive led by backup quarterback Trey Elder, who was filling in for a starting quarterback Ritchie Williams. They held off a last-minute threat and picked up a fumble by Furman and ran it back to Furman's 1-yard line, where that game ended.
Two of the team's three losses were to I-A teams--Kansas University and the tenth-ranked LSU Tigers. The Charlotte Observer named the Mountaineers the most successful college football program in the State over the past 20 years.
Among their famous alumni are Dallas Cowboys linebacker Dexter Coakley, and former Redskins runningback John Settles.
Coach Jerry Moore is the winningest coach in Southern Conference history, with a string of 16 winning seasons in 17 years, with a record of 139-67. This is his 13th playoff appearance as a head coach. Coach Moore perfected his coaching skills as an assistant under our colleague in the House, Congressman Tom Osborne.
When Appalachian wins tonight's showdown, it will be the first time a university from the State of North Carolina has ever won a national football championship.
Senator Harkin doesn't need to take my word for it or the sports reporters or the commentators opining on the success of Coach Moore and his Mountaineers. Senator Harkin needs to go no further than his own backyard to find someone who can attest to Jerry Moore's ability to prepare the Mountaineers for tonight's game. That is because Coach Moore counts as one of his closest friends a man synonymous with Iowa football--former Hawkeyes head coach, Hayden Fry, with whom Jerry Moore started his coaching career at SMU.
Mr. President, Appalachian State University was started as a teachers college in 1899. Its enrollment is slightly over 14,000 students. It is the sixth largest State university in our university system in North Carolina. It has one of the highest graduation rates of student athlete football players in the State, and a few years ago it ranked only behind Duke in that distinction.
I take this opportunity to congratulate the Northern Iowa Panthers. I congratulate Chancellor Peacock and Coach Moore but, more importantly, these two teams who have reached the final championship game tonight.
Tonight there will be only winners; there are no losers. Tomorrow there will be one loser, and that will be my colleague from Iowa as he prepares to send those pork chops to North Carolina.
With that, I yield the floor.
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