Quigley Hoists Stanley Cup, Congratulates Blackhawks on House Floor

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Representative and die-hard hockey fan Mike Quigley (D-Chicago Blackhawks) delivered the following improvised remarks on the House floor:

"Madam Speaker, you have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy this, but sometime late last night, Patrick Kane slipped a puck past a Philadelphia goaltender in overtime and the Chicago Blackhawks became the Stanley Cup Champions.

[Applause]

Congratulations to the team for their great season. Many of these players have played over 120 games this season, including the Olympics, to achieve their One Goal.

A special thanks to the owner of the Blackhawks, Rocky Wirtz. While hockey never left Chicago, he brought it back. The management team of John McDonough, Jay Blunk, Stan and Scotty Bowman, Coach Quenneville, and Dale Tallon.

Madam Speaker, today, for all of us, with apologies, Chicago is (sings) 'my kind of town.' Thank you and I yield back."

Video of the above speech is available here.

Last fall, when Quigley enumerated the Top Ten Reasons to love Chicago, he closed his speech by saying, "I look forward to coming back next summer with Chicago's Stanley Cup."

Quigley still plays hockey regularly in Chicago and Washington. He recently played in a charity game at the United Center against the Blackhawks alumni, as well as a "Lawmakers vs. Lobbyists" match-up in Washington. He is a co-chair of the Congressional Hockey Caucus, a bipartisan group dedicated to combating childhood obesity while promoting exercise, teamwork, discipline, and commitment through hockey. He has been a lifelong Chicago Blackhawks fan.