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Floor Speech

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Mr. BANKS. Madam President, as we begin the new year, there are a lot of things that Members of Congress and the American people are paying attention to. But something really extraordinary is going on in my home State of Indiana. It is not just Hoosiers who are paying attention; the whole country is following Indiana football.

I am the first in my family to go to college, and it was a no-brainer for me to attend Indiana University in Bloomington.

Everyone knows that IU is a basketball school. IU basketball won five national championships. We had the legendary 1976 undefeated team in the NCAA--the only undefeated team in college basketball history.

When I got to college in the 1990s, one of the reasons I attended IU was to watch Bobby Knight-coached basketball games. We had great players over the years: Isaiah Thomas, Damon Bailey, Steve Alford, and so many others who played on the floor at Assembly Hall and made Indiana very proud. Assembly Hall is the mecca of college basketball. Again, it is one of the reasons that I wanted to go to college there in the first place. When I go back to IU and attend basketball games, I still get choked up in the pregame show at Assembly Hall each and every time.

But IU was never known as a football school. Sure, we had some great talent over the years--Antwaan Randle El was the star player when I attended IU--but IU football always had a lot more downs than it had ups. In fact, when I was a student at Indiana University, the football program was so bad that they gave free season tickets to all of the students who lived in the dorms, and at every game, the stadium was hardly ever even half full except for those occasions when the Ohio State Buckeyes came over the State line to play in Bloomington.

As IU fans, we were trained to never get our hopes up about Indiana football, but now, my, how the tides have turned. Now, the entire country is watching one of the greatest turnarounds in sports history. From being college football's alltime leader in losses to now having an undefeated season, wherein we won the Rose Bowl, the Big Ten Championship, and had a Heisman Trophy winner, IU football has captured the country's attention. In fact, the great Dick Vitale said, ``Hoosier football is the greatest turn around'' that he has ever seen.

When IU President Pam Whitten and athletic director Scott Dolson brought on coach Curt Cignetti, IU's football program turned around overnight. And when my wife and I attended the IU game earlier this season against Wisconsin, the stadium was absolutely packed--a real change from what past games used to look like. Coach Cignetti has brought great pride to the State of Indiana.

I want to highlight the incredible young man who has led IU's team to glory this season, the great Fernando Mendoza.

Just 3 weeks ago, Fernando became the first Heisman Trophy winner in Indiana University's history. When I was in college, I have got to tell you that it would have been impossible to imagine having had a Heisman Trophy winner at Indiana University. What makes this man truly exceptional is not simply his award-winning career on the field. What makes Fernando so incredible is that he represents the very best of what we hope to see in our Nation's young people--a combination of excellence, character, faith, and service to others.

In fact, a few days ago, Fernando led the Hoosiers to an incredible 38-to-3 victory over Alabama in the Rose Bowl, winning the first ever Rose Bowl in IU's history and the first win in the modern playoff era for the Indiana Hoosiers.

Right after the game, Fernando was asked about the big win. And do you know what he said? Before saying anything else, he said:

My team and I want to give all the glory to God.

In all of his interviews, Fernando always makes sure to thank God first. That is a man who has his priorities straight. That is a man who is proud to live out his faith, who honors God in everything that he does.

But there is more.

With Fernando Mendoza, there is really no ``I'' in ``team.'' When he received his Heisman trophy, Fernando made it clear that it wasn't his trophy alone. Instead he said that it was ``our trophy.'' That is why he has made the gracious decision to keep the Heisman Trophy in Bloomington, IN. It is because the Trophy belongs to the university and to the fans, he said.

I am incredibly proud of that decision, and I want to thank Fernando Mendoza for making that decision. I can't wait to go to Bloomington to see it.

In his Heisman Trophy speech, Fernando mentioned how his family has always stood by his side throughout his career and that they have never stopped believing in him. Fernando particularly thanked his mother Elsa.

He said:

This is your trophy as much as it is mine.

Elsa suffers from multiple sclerosis, a tough and often painful disease. In honor of his mother, Fernando has raised over $100,000 to fight MS. What an incredible act of kindness, and what a special way to honor his mother.

In that Heisman Trophy acceptance speech, after thanking his teammates, his family, and Coach Cignetti, Fernando addressed the young people who might be tuning in.

He said:

I want every kid out there who feels overlooked and underestimated to know I was you. I was that kid too. I was in your shoes. The truth is, you don't need the most stars, hype, or rankings. You just need discipline, heart, and people who believe in you, and you need to believe in your own abilities.

Our young people need role models today more than ever, and they need role models like Fernando Mendoza. He shows them that faith matters, that family comes first, and that hard work pays off. He is proof that you can be a champion on the field and still be humble, that you can be competitive and still put God first, that success means nothing if you are not using it to help others. Fernando Mendoza is the kind of young man that I want my three daughters to look up to and other kids of their generation to look up to too. Indiana is lucky to have him. We are proud to have him, and America is better because of him.

I don't know how this story ends at the semifinal game in Atlanta on Friday that I am looking forward to attending and at the championship game in Miami the following week. I can't wait to cheer on the Hoosiers. I don't know how this great story ends. The Hoosiers have a possibility to be the first team ever to win 16 games and go undefeated, but I can't tell you how much pride the great State of Indiana has in this football team wearing the ``Indiana'' on their uniform. They represent us so well.

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