奥巴马演讲:奥巴马接见新奥尔良圣徒
The President honors the New Orleans Saints for their Super Bowl victory and speaks of the role the team has played in helping New Orleans recover from the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. The President also speaks of the work to cap the BP oil spill and of the Administration’s commitment to help the area and its fisheries recover.
【Transcript】
THE PRESIDENT: Well, welcome, everybody. Please have a seat, have a seat. It is wonderful to see all of you. Welcome, and congratulations to the 2009 Super Bowl Champions -– the New Orleans Saints. (Applause.)
I want to start by recognizing some folks in my administration who are big fans of this team — Lisa Jackson — (applause) — from the EPA; Secretary Donovan from HUD; — (applause) — Craig Fugate from FEMA. (Applause.) We’ve got a few very proud members of Congress with us –- Senator Mary Landrieu — (applause) — and Representative Steve Scalise are in the house. (Applause.)
Congratulations to the owner, Tom Benson, who has led this team through times that would test anybody; and General Manager Mickey Loomis, for building this extraordinary championship squad.
Congratulations to your outstanding head coach, Sean Payton, who’s done just great work. (Applause.) I must point out Sean is a Chicago guy. (Laughter.) I’m just saying. (Laughter.) By way of Naperville. You’ve got to be tough to be a Chicago guy. I make some tough decisions every day, but I never decided on an onside kick in the second half of the Super Bowl. (Applause.) That took some guts. Were you okay with that? Did he check off with you? (Laughter.) I’m glad that thing went all right. (Laughter.)
Coach Payton led this team to a remarkable season: 13-0 start, a franchise record for wins; a heck of an overtime win in the NFC Championship. And then after falling behind in the Super Bowl, with the onside kick, huge second half; Tracy Porter’s interception guaranteeing that the Lombardi Trophy would go to the city of New Orleans for the very first time. It was an unbelievable moment. (Applause.)
I want to congratulate the Super Bowl MVP, your quarterback, your captain — Drew Brees. (Applause.) I have to say all of us were very excited after the game — all my wife wanted to talk about was Baylen, that little boy sitting with Drew, and everybody going, “Awww,” (laughter) — which, I’m just saying, you made a lot of fans then. (Laughter.) Drew and his wife, Brittany, are expecting their second child in October. So, congratulations to you both. (Applause.)
Drew threw six touchdowns in the opening weekend, making it pretty clear that the Saints were coming to play. And over the course of the season, he set a new NFL record for accuracy, completing more than 70 percent of his passes. I have a few staffers who were thrilled to have Drew on their fantasy team. (Laughter.) So they are grateful for that.
And by the way, this is not Drew’s first time to the White House. Last year, we filmed a PSA some of you may have seen, encouraging America’s youth to get 60 minutes of physical activity every day. He tossed me a nice tight spiral that I then lateraled to a kid on DeMarcus Ware’s shoulders. I also want to point out I beat Troy Polamalu over the middle on that throw. (Laughter.) You remember. (Laughter.) I’m not sure he was going top speed, but — (laughter.)
Finally, Drew has agreed to serve as co-chair of the new President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. And I want to thank all the players who put on a clinic earlier this morning with children from the Boys and Girls Club as part of the Let’s Move and the NFL’s Play60 program. So, thank you very much, guys, for participating in that. (Applause.)
So this was an unbelievable season. After decades of frustration, the Saints finally won the big one. The “ain’ts” and the “sad sacks” gave way to the “Who Dats.” Local musicians even gave a jazz funeral to retire the “ain’ts” nickname. But I think we all know that this season meant far more than that to the City of New Orleans -– and to all Americans, really.
Look, I’m a Bears fan. I’m not going to lie. (Laughter.) But this was a big win for the country — not just for New Orleans — because five years ago, this team played its entire season on the road. It didn’t have a home field. The Superdome had been ruined by Hurricane Katrina. The heartbreaking tragedies that unfolded there when it was used as a shelter from that terrible storm lingered all too fresh in a lot of people’s minds.
And back then, people didn’t even know if the team was coming back. People didn’t know if the city was coming back. Not only did the team come back -– it took its city’s hands and helped its city back on its feet. This team took the hopes and the dreams of a shattered city and placed them squarely on its shoulders.
And so these guys became more than leaders in the locker room -– they became leaders of an entire region. And the victory parade that we saw earlier this year made one thing perfectly clear, that New Orleans and the New Orleans Saints are here to stay.
So plenty of cities carry their sports teams through a tough season. It’s a rare thing when a sports team carries a city through tough times. And that’s why there’s such a deep bond between this organization and the city. I’m not sure there’s any other city that feels that same way right now. And that’s not just for what the Saints have done on the field, but what they’ve done off it to see that the city keeps rising.
In fact, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently said that every team in professional sports should use the Saints as a model for how to interact with their community.
This entire team has worked with Habitat for Humanity to rebuild neighborhoods in New Orleans. Many of these guys and the coaches and the players run foundations to help children in need. All of them are off to Walter Reed later this morning to spend some time with wounded warriors who served our country.
And obviously the Gulf region has spent the last few months besieged by yet another crisis. But last week we received the news that we had hoped for. Yesterday, we learned that a procedure to prevent any more oil from spilling with a cement plug appears to have succeeded. And the final steps will be taken later in August when the relief well is completed. But what is clear is that the battle to stop the oil from flowing into the Gulf is just about over.
Our work goes on, though. I made a commitment to the people of the Gulf Coast that I would stand by them not just until the well was closed but until they recovered from the damage that’s been done. And that’s a commitment my administration is going to keep.
So with the ongoing reopening of Gulf fisheries, we’re excited that fishermen can go back to work and Americans can confidently and safely enjoy Gulf seafood once again. We’re certainly going to enjoy it here at the White House. In fact, we had some yesterday.
While they’re here today, several Saints players are going to spend some time teaching our staff their favorite Gulf seafood recipes. So who’s cooking? (Laughter.) Which one — it’s you back there? All right. (Laughter and applause.) And Sam Kass, the White House — he’s very excited, he’s very excited. And after weeks of hearing about food from our response teams down in the Gulf, I can tell you that our staff is excited about the 30-foot po’ boy we’re serving at lunch today. (Laughter.)
But let me just say in closing, we are very proud of this team, and we are very proud of the owner of this team, because it required a great commitment on your part to help pull this team and this city along. And so there is a heartfelt congratulations not just from those of us here in the White House, but I think all across America. These are big guys with big hearts, and shoulders big enough to carry the hopes and dreams of an entire city with them.
So with that, congratulations to all of you — the New Orleans Saints, 2009 Super Bowl Champions. Congratulations. (Applause.)
END 9:29 A.M. EDT
【相关中文报道】
本周一，美国总统巴拉克-奥巴马在白宫接见了超级碗冠军新奥尔良圣徒队。
伴随着乐队演奏的“圣徒进行曲”，球队成员在球迷的欢呼和呐喊声中走进白宫。球队老板汤姆-本森挥舞着他的拳头，金黄色的超级碗钻戒在空中闪耀。
奥巴马在东厅的仪式上对球队、球队老板以及教练进行了祝贺。他说在卡特里娜飓风的破坏之后球队撑起了“一个支离破碎了的城市的希望和梦想”
奥巴马表示圣徒队的超级碗胜利对新奥尔良和整个国家意义重大。他指出在卡特里娜飓风之后，圣徒队必须在客场打整个赛季，因为他们的主场超级圆顶体育场在风暴中被毁坏了。“那时人们甚至不知道球队是否还会回来。人们甚至不知道这座城市是否还会回来，”奥巴马说。
现在，总统表示，圣徒证明他们的球队和这座城市还在这里。超级碗MVP德鲁-布里斯将一件圣徒队的44号球衣赠与了这位第44任美国总统。
布里斯在之前拜访白宫的时候拍摄了一则公益广告以鼓励孩子们每天锻炼60分钟。球队上午在华盛顿与“男孩和女孩俱乐部”的孩子们打球，之后他们在沃尔特-里德陆军医疗中心慰问了受伤的士兵和他们的家人。
奥巴马的讲话结束后，他与球队全体成员共进午餐，午餐前，球员们站在东厅的露天看台上和与他们握手的总统拍照留念。之后，圣徒在同样的“圣徒进行曲”中以同样的方式离开了白宫。
（本段文字来源：NFL中国官网）
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