Remarks Honoring the NCAA Men's Hockey Champion Boston College Eagles

Well, thank you all very much. Welcome to the White House. My honor to host you. I know some of the players up here are from Canada. I hope you feel just as welcome in this house as your U.S. counterparts do.

I want to thank Father Leahy for being here. I want to thank the athletic director. Of course, I want to thank Coach York. It's an honor for me to host the mighty Eagles. One of the great benefits of having my job is, I do get to welcome championship teams from all across our country. As a Governor of Texas, the truth of the matter is, I didn't get to welcome a lot of hockey teams. [Laughter]

I'm also pleased to see some folks who sometimes think I—on thin ice. [Laughter] I think they know who I'm talking about.

Senator Kerry, thank you for being here, sir. I appreciate Representatives Frank and Markey. I appreciate Representative Capuano. I'm glad you all are here. One of the things that happens sometimes in politics is, we disagree. But I think we're learning to disagree in an agreeable way. So you're welcome to the people's house.

I also want to welcome my friend Ambassador Paul Cellucci. I made a good pick when I picked Paul to become the Ambassador to Canada. He, of course, takes credit for the fact that the BC Eagles won the national championship, since he was the Governor at the time.

Also before I turn to the coach, want to remind folks that my sister is a BC Eagle, and proudly so. She's probably wondering why I didn't invite her here today. [Laughter]

This is a great place to honor champs. It's also a great place to play sports. We've got a basketball court here. There's a bowling alley. There is a swimming pool. Recently, there was a baseball yard for a teeball game. I asked them why there's no hockey rink, and the truth of the matter is, Coach, there's no place to park the Zamboni. [Laughter]

But I do want to congratulate you all for a great victory and a great championship. I know your win over North Dakota was a tough win. But I want to quote what one of your players said, Mark McLennan. Where are you, Mark? He said this about the team: "There were no egos on this team. We had great individual players, but nothing was bigger than the team." And that's why you're the champs. I want to congratulate you all for being champs.

I want to remind you that life is more than just being champs on the ice. It's important to be a champ off the ice, as well. I'm sure there's some little kid up there in the Boston area wondering how a champ behaves off the ice, and you have the responsibility as a champion to set the right example.

Coach, welcome to the White House. Congratulations for being here.