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NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue: The State of The NFL
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At 11:30 AM EST, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue gave his annual "State of The NFL" speech from the NFL press conference ballroom at Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, Fla. This is the complete speech and press conference.
A Conversation With:
NFL COMMISSIONER
PAUL TAGLIABUE
COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE
Good
morning and thank you very much for being here
today. The Super Bowl always puts the host city
in an enormous spotlight. And one of the
questions this year has been why are we in
Jacksonville. Different people have asked the
question in different ways. From my perspective
the reason we're here has to do with two things.
First of all is the tremendous support for
football here in Jacksonville. It's a great football
community that has played an important role in
high school football, college football and pro
football for many, many decades. And Wayne
Weaver and the Jacksonville Jaguars have taken
that history to a new level here in the last ten years
including with those two AFC Championship Game
appearances.
But the Super Bowl in Jacksonville is also
with the NFL's unique history in small town
America and in all towns in America. Part of what
it unique and special about our League is the
tradition of teams in small and mid sized cities
such as Green Bay, Kansas City, Buffalo and now
Jacksonville.
Here in a city connected by bridges we say
that this Super Bowl is about building bridges,
including a bridge to our small-town roots, to the
values of our game and to the passion for football
in towns of all sizes throughout America.
This game in Jacksonville is a special way
to recognize and honor the loyalty of all fans in all
the cities that play such an important role in our
League. We continue to reach out in special ways,
unique ways, different from any other League to
serve the fans wherever they are in America. This
includes the guaranteed telecasting of every
team's games on a regional basis, if not more
broadly.
It includes our policies on revenue sharing,
which often help small-market teams. It includes
our Youth Football Fund where we are investing in
fields and communities throughout America,
including rural American small towns. To the
Jacksonville leadership, Mayor Peyton, Wayne
Weaver, Tom Petway, Peter Rummell, Mike
Weinstein, Michael Kelly, and thousands of local
volunteers, you've done a tremendous job. You
worked hard. You worked smart, and you've
delivered.
Our Super Bowl on the River is already a
success, and we know it's going to build from here
through the game on Sunday. We're very, very
grateful for your enthusiastic hospitality.
I want to congratulate our players, coaches
and so many others who made the 2004 season a
grand success. That includes at the top of the list
the fans who support year-in and year-out is the
foundation of our League. It certainly also includes
all of you in the media who bring our game to the
fans in hundreds of communities throughout
America.
This was the type of season that
fortunately has become standard for our league
and the 32 teams -- intense and unpredictable
competition, super individual and super team
performances and tremendous fan interest. The
enforcement of our downfield contact rule start off
as the big story, and probably ended up where it
should, which was enhancing our game in a very
balanced way and not being intrusive into the
game.
On both sides of the ball, offense and
defense this 2004 season saw athletes and teams,
and Peyton Manning had that season, but so many
players had a great season, including players on
the Patriots and the Eagles. A few moments ago
I was visiting with someone who has the overall
excellence of the season both on and off the field.
He's Warrick Dunn of the Falcons. He's
sitting with Arthur Blank. He's sitting with his
grandmother and one of his youth coaches is here.
Take a bow, because I want to say some nice
things about you.
Earlier this morning, Connie Payton on
behalf of the League presented Warrick with the
Walter Payton Award as the NFL Man Of The
Year for his outstanding work on the football field
and especially in the community. Like Walter
Payton, Warrick Dunn is a supremely talented..more..
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