H.Res. 110

This is kind of amazing. While it's fairly common for Congress to pass hundreds, if not thousands, of resolutions in each session, this one is particularly wonderful. I do love the "Steeler Nation".

Full text below (read it, it's a hoot!):

111th CONGRESS 1st Session

H. RES. 110

Congratulating the National Football League champion Pittsburgh Steelers for winning Super Bowl XLIII and becoming the most successful franchise in NFL history with their record 6th Super Bowl title.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 3, 2009

Mr. DOYLE (for himself, Mr. ROONEY, and Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

---

RESOLUTION

Congratulating the National Football League champion Pittsburgh Steelers for winning Super Bowl XLIII and becoming the most successful franchise in NFL history with their record 6th Super Bowl title.

Whereas the Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII by defeating the Arizona Cardinals 27 to 23 in Tampa, Florida, on February 1, 2009, winning their second Super Bowl championship in 4 years;

Whereas with this victory the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise has set a new National Football League standard for most Super Bowl victories with their record 6th Super Bowl championship;

Whereas the Pittsburgh Steelers went 15-4 against the hardest-ranked 2008-2009 schedule in the NFL and defeated the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, and Arizona Cardinals during their record-setting post season run;

Whereas linebacker James Harrison returned a goal line interception 100 yards for the longest play in Super Bowl history;

Whereas quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went 21-30 for 256 yards and led the team down the field for the 19th and most important 4th quarter comeback of his career;

Whereas wide receiver Santonio Holmes won the Super Bowl MVP award with a 9-catch, 131-yard performance, including the game-winning touchdown in the corner of the endzone with 35 seconds left in the game;

Whereas the Pittsburgh Steelers new `Steel Curtain' defense, including stars James Harrison, Ryan Clark, Troy Polamalu, James Farrior, Ike Taylor, Larry Foote, Casey Hampton, LaMarr Woodley, Brett Keisel, Deshea Townsend, and Aaron Smith were ranked first in the NFL in overall team defense for the 2008-2009 season;

Whereas the Pittsburgh Steelers defense during the 2008-2009 season allowed the least points scored, lowest average passing yards per game, and the least overall yards per game in the entire NFL;

Whereas head coach Mike Tomlin is the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl championship and has continued in the legendary tradition of head coaches Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher by bringing a Super Bowl championship to Pittsburgh;

Whereas linebacker James Harrison was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the 2008-2009 season;

Whereas team owner Dan Rooney and team President Art Rooney II, the son and grandson, respectively, of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney, have remarkable loyalty to Steelers fans and the City of Pittsburgh, and have assembled an exceptional team of players, coaches, and staff that made achieving a championship possible;

Whereas the Pittsburgh Steelers fan base, known as `Steeler Nation', was ranked in August 2008 by ESPN.com as the best in the NFL, citing their current streak of 299 consecutive sold out games going back to the 1972 season; and

Whereas, for 76 years, the people of the City of Pittsburgh have seen themselves in the grit, tenacity, and success of the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise, and they proudly join the team in celebrating their NFL record 6th Super Bowl championship: Now therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives congratulates the National Football League Champion Pittsburgh Steelers for winning Super Bowl XLIII and setting a new championship standard for the entire NFL.

(http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.RES.110:)

My Holy Charge

A friend of mine introduced me to the following article in the latest edition of GQ, and I loved it so much I thought I'd reproduce it here. I hate that I'm missing the season!!!! But I'm going to search for the games on FoxTel and in pubs here, and spawn new Steelers fans internationally. ;)

Because the Cowboys may be America's Team, but the Steelers are God's Team.

A Steelers game is a holy war, a fight for what is virtuous and right. To live here in Pittsburgh, where Heinz Field sits like a fat temple bursting with kielbasa-loving believers, is to know all there is to know. Unflinching, unconditional, ours is a faith handed to us from Grandpa or Great-Grandpa, the guy who first got the season tickets and passed them down through generations. (The waiting list for season tickets is ten years long - you have to wait until someone dies.) Divorcing couples have been known to wage custody battles over season tickets; ex-husbands give in and sit with ex-wives, sharing nachos and a cold Iron. Hey, it's the Steelers.

We are born into our religion, and we are baptized, and we receive our Communion. A Steelers fan never strays. You move to Denver, or to some fancy Sunbelt place, or even to California, you stay a Steelers fan. People say the Cowboys are America's Team, and we think that is so adorable. So very precious. Listen, people: The Steelers are God's Team. Hometown boy Bill Cowher having passed along to sainthood, we embrace a new messiah, Mike Tomlin, trusting in the guidance of our holiest family, the Rooneys (because they're from Pittsburgh). And now, of course, we have big Ben Roethlisberger, who can make us more than a tiny bit nervous, and Hines Ward, with his eternal smile (he smiles, we think, because he gets to play for Pittsburgh), and Troy Polamalu, who embodies the sort of humanity we expect of our Steelers. Good people. Good people. Hey, they play for Pittsburgh - a rusty promised land where there is so little left to be proud of. So we will sit and wave our terrible towels and battle the gray chill that cuts to the bone, wave that towel, wave that towel in praise. We will do this because it is our life's work. We will continue to give birth to baby Steelers fans, and we will continue our charge to take over the world, to convert you and you and you. We are missionaries charged with leading you toward the light of Steeler Nation. It's probably a rule in the Bible somewhere. Oh, it probably is.