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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, On January 30, 2000, the St. Louis Rams, led by
3 their "Gotta Go To Work" motto and attitude, won Super Bowl
4 XXXIV in Atlanta, Georgia, over the Tennessee Titans by the
5 final score of 23-16; and
6 WHEREAS, The St. Louis Rams moved from Los Angeles, put
7 down new roots in the St. Louis/Metro East region in 1995,
8 and the people of the area banded together to welcome their
9 new team; and
10 WHEREAS, During the first few years of the Rams
11 organizational history in St. Louis, the team and its fans
12 suffered through the many ups and downs of a professional
13 football season; and
14 WHEREAS, All during those years the Rams organization and
15 players continued to give back to the local community through
16 volunteer and community based work and programs; and
17 WHEREAS, In 1999, the St. Louis Rams embarked on their
18 fifth season in the St. Louis metro area with a new frame of
19 mind, new team members, a fire in their eyes, and a desire to
20 win and win big; and
21 WHEREAS, With their opening season win over the Baltimore
22 Ravens by a final score of 27-10, the Rams began to embark
23 on, unbeknownst to anyone at that time, a season of destiny;
24 and
25 WHEREAS, The Rams continued to win and overcome all
26 obstacles that their foes could throw before them, defeating
27 the Baltimore Ravens, the Atlanta Falcons, the Cincinnati
28 Bengals, the San Francisco 49ers, the Cleveland Browns, the
29 Carolina Panthers, the New York Giants, the New Orleans
30 Saints, and the Chicago Bears; and
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1 WHEREAS, The Rams, through all these victories, began to
2 inspire a winning attitude in the hearts of all the fans of
3 the Metro East region; and
4 WHEREAS, The Rams continued to prove to their fans that
5 they were contenders, and won the NFC Western Conference
6 title convincingly, and earned home field advantage
7 throughout the playoffs; and
8 WHEREAS, The Rams finished the season with an NFC best
9 record of 13-3; and
10 WHEREAS, The Rams continued their winning ways by
11 defeating the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the NFC
12 divisional playoffs by a final score of 49-37; and
13 WHEREAS, The Rams struggled, but never stopped believing
14 in themselves, achieving a hard fought win in the NFC
15 championship game over a tough and resilient Tampa Bay
16 Buccaneer team, by a final score of 12-6, and became the NFC
17 champions; and
18 WHEREAS, The Rams headed to the Georgia Dome for Super
19 Bowl XXXIV and a date with the Tennessee Titans and destiny;
20 and
21 WHEREAS, On the last play of the Super Bowl, Linebacker
22 Mike Jones reached down deep inside himself and inside the
23 faith that his team had in him, giving his all for his team,
24 by making a game saving tackle on the Rams one yard line; and
25 WHEREAS, In the end, the phrase "59 Men Believed"
26 appeared on the front cover of newspapers all across this
27 great nation; and
28 WHEREAS, In Super Bowl XXXIV, the Rams showed the world
29 that their "never say die" spirit and their workmen-like
30 attitude, drove them to continue, strive for greatness, and
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1 to persevere to win the Lombardi Trophy and Super Bowl XXXIV
2 over the Titans by a final score of 23-16; and
3 WHEREAS, In achieving this season of greatness, the St.
4 Louis Rams, their coaching staff, and their players achieved
5 numerous awards and recognition, including but not limited
6 to, Super Bowl XXXIV MVP and NFL regular season MVP
7 Quarterback Kurt Warner; NFL offensive player of the year,
8 running back Marshall Faulk; and NFL Coach of the Year, Head
9 Coach Dick Vermeil; and
10 WHEREAS, The Rams sent six starters, wide receiver Isaac
11 Bruce, offensive tackle Orlando Pace, quarterback Kurt
12 Warner, running back Marshall Faulk, defensive end Kevin
13 Carter, and cornerback Todd Lyght; and two reserves,
14 offensive guard Adam Timmerman and defensive lineman D'Marco
15 Farr, to the Pro Bowl; and
16 WHEREAS, In achieving all these great achievements and
17 more, the St. Louis Rams refused to succumb to the negative
18 attacks of the critics and refused to let adversity get
19 between them and their goal to win it all; and
20 WHEREAS, In doing so, the members of the St. Louis Rams
21 became shining examples of leadership through adversity, and
22 true role models for all the young men and women and all
23 people of the Metro East region and the State of Illinois;
24 and
25 WHEREAS, The St. Louis Rams collectively redefines and
26 creates a new definition of the word "champion"; therefore,
27 be it
28 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
29 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
30 we congratulate Owner Georgia Frontiere; the Coaching Staff,
31 Head Coach Dick Vermeil, Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz,
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1 Defensive Coordinator Peter Giunta, Special Teams Coach Frank
2 Ganz, Offensive Line Coach Jim Hanifan; the players, Ray
3 Agnew, Taje Allen, Lionel Barnes, Dre' Bly, Isaac Bruce,
4 Devin Bush, Ron Carpenter, Kevin Carter, Charlie Clemons,
5 Rich Coady, Todd Collins, Ernie Conwell, D'Marco Farr,
6 Marshall Faulk, London Fletcher, Joe Germaine, Mike
7 Gruttadauria, Az-zahir Hakim, Nate Hobgood-Chittic, James
8 Hodgins, Robert Holcombe, Torry Holt, Mike Horan, Tony Horne,
9 Billy Jenkins, Mike Jones, Paul Justin, Amp Lee, Leonard
10 Little, Todd Lyght, Keith Lyle, Dexter McCleon, Andy
11 McCollum, Fred Miller, Mike Morton, Tom Nutten, Orlando Pace,
12 Troy Pelshak, Ricky Proehl, Jeff Robinson, Cameron Spikes,
13 Lorenzo Styles, Chris Thomas, Adam Timmerman, Ryan Tucker,
14 Kurt Warner, Justin Watson, Jeff Wilkins, Jay Williams,
15 Roland Williams, Matt Willig, Grant Wistrom, and Jeff
16 Zgonina; and, of course, the fans, for a dream season and a
17 job well done; and be it further
18 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
19 presented to Georgia Frontiere, the entire St. Louis Rams
20 organization, and all the players to honor their "never say
21 die" attitude, their great spirit of competition, their
22 dedication to team principles, and their great roles in the
23 St. Louis Rams victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.