Hear part of Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald’s speech he delivered about his friend, Arizona Senator John McCain, at McCain’s memorial service.
JOSE CARDENAS: ARIZONA CARDINALS WIDE RECEIVER LARRY FITZGERALD GAVE A HEARTFELT TRIBUTE AT SENATOR McCAIN'S SERVICE. FITZGERALD WAS A CLOSE FRIEND OF SENATOR McCAIN'S AND IN HIS SPEECH TALKED ABOUT THEIR UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP AND TYPIFIED THE SENATOR'S ABILITY TO REACH ACROSS POLITICAL DIVIDES. [APPLAUSE]
LARRY FITZGERALD: MANY PEOPLE MIGHT WONDER WHAT A YOUNG AFRICAN-AMERICAN KID FROM MINNESOTA AND A HIGHLY DECORATED VIETNAM WAR HERO TURNED UNITED STATES SENATOR MIGHT HAVE IN COMMON. WELL, I THOUGHT OF A FEW. I'M BLACK. HE WAS WHITE. [LAUGHTER] I'M YOUNG. HE WASN'T SO YOUNG. [LAUGHTER] HE LIVED WITH PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS BROUGHT ON BY WAR. I'M A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE. [LAUGHTER] HE RAN FOR PRESIDENT. I RUN OUT OF BOUNDS. [LAUGHTER] HE WAS THE EPITOME OF TOUGHNESS, AND I DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO AVOID CONTACT. [LAUGHTER] I HAVE FLOWING LOCKS, AND, WELL, HE DIDN'T. [LAUGHTER]
LARRY FITZGERALD: HOW DOES THIS UNLIKELY PAIR BECOME FRIENDS? I'VE ASKED MYSELF THE SAME QUESTION. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS. THAT'S JUST WHO HE IS. OVER THE SEVERAL YEARS I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF SPENDING TIME WITH SENATOR McCAIN, SOMETIMES IT WAS JUST A VISIT TO OUR PRACTICES. OTHER TIMES IT WAS HIM TEXTING SAYING YOU NEED TO PICK IT UP THIS SUNDAY. [LAUGHTER]
LARRY FITZGERALD : I'M THANKFUL THAT THROUGH THESE MOMENTS, THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAD TO SHARE OUR LIVES AND MORE IMPORTANTLY OUR STORIES. WHILE FROM VERY DIFFERENT WORLDS, WE DEVELOPED A MEANINGFUL FRIENDSHIP. THIS HIGHLIGHTS THE VERY RARE AND VERY SPECIAL QUALITIES OF SENATOR McCAIN THEY CAME TO DEEPLY ADMIRE. HE DIDN'T JUDGE INDIVIDUALS BASED ON THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN, THEIR GENDER, THEIR BACKGROUNDS, THEIR POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS OR BANK ACCOUNTS. HE EVALUATED THEM ON THE MERITS OF THEIR CHARACTER AND THE CONFIDENCE OF THEIR HEART. HE JUDGED THEM ON THE WORK THEY PUT IN AND THE PRINCIPLES THEY LIVED BY. IT WAS THIS APPROACH TO HUMANITY THAT MADE SENATOR JOHN McCAIN SO RESPECTED BY COUNTLESS PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD, INCLUDING ME. HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS WERE MANY. U.S. SENATOR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE. STATESMAN. WARRIOR. HERO. HIS WORK ETHIC, TIRELESS. HIS FIGHT, LEGENDARY. BUT WHAT MADE SENATOR McCAIN SO SPECIAL WAS THAT HE CARED ABOUT THE SUBSTANCE OF MY HEART MORE SO THAN WHERE I CAME FROM. WHILE SOME MIGHT FIND OUR FRIENDSHIP OUT OF ORDINARY, IT WAS A PERFECT EXAMPLE WHAT MADE HIM AN ICONIC FIGURE OF AMERICAN POLITICS AND SERVICE TO FELLOW MAN. HE CELEBRATED DIFFERENCES, HE EMBRACED HUMANITY. CHAMPIONED WHAT WAS TRUE AND JUST, AND SAW PEOPLE FOR WHO THEY WERE. YES, OURS WAS AN UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP, BUT IT'S ONE I WILL ALWAYS CHERISH. I'VE HAD THE HONOR OF ATTENDING SEVERAL OF THE SEDONA FORUMS HOSTED BY SENATOR McCAIN AND HIS REMARKABLE WIFE, CINDY. THERE WERE WORLD LEADERS IN POLITICS, BUSINESS, SCIENCE AND EDUCATION TO DISCUSS THE MOST PRESSING MATTERS OF OUR TIME. ISSUES LIKE HEALTH CARE, GLOBAL WARMING, TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING. THESE LEADERS GATHERED TO FIND REAL SOLUTIONS AND THEY GATHERED BECAUSE SENATOR McCAIN ASKED THEM TO BE THERE. HIS DEVOTION IT MAKING ARIZONA THE UNITED STATES, AND THE WHOLE WORLD A BETTER PLACE FOR EVERYONE HAD INSPIRED COUNTLESS LEADERS, LIKE THOSE AT THE SEDONA FORUM. I'M CONFIDENT HIS LEGACY OF DEVOTION AND THE COMMON GOOD WILL CONTINUE TO INSPIRE PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD LONG AFTER TODAY.-- A FEW YEARS AGO, HE WAS KIND ENOUGH TO TAKE ME ON A PERSONAL TOUR OF THE U.S. SENATE. IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT SENATOR McCAIN WAS HIGHLY REGARDED. HE BELIEVED TO BE RIGHT AND WAS GOOD REGARDLESS OF WHICH POLITICAL SIDE OF THE AISLE HIS OPINION FELL ON. I SAW HOW RESPECTED HE WAS AND HOW MUCH ADMIRATION HE COMMANDED FROM PEOPLE ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM. BUT THAT ADMIRATION WASN'T SURPRISING BECAUSE SENATOR McCAIN WAS KNOWN AS A MAN OF INTEGRITY AND CONVICTION. A MAN WHO AT TIMES JUST AS HE SACRIFICED HIMSELF OR FELLOW P.O.W.'S IN VIETNAM WILLINGLY ACCOMPLISHED WHAT HE BELIEVED WAS BEST FOR ALL. AS A RESULT OF THIS TYPE OF SACRIFICE, HE MAY HAVE LOST THE SUPPORT OF A POLITICAL ALLY HERE AND THERE BUT GAINED THE RESPECT AND ADMIRATION OF AN ENTIRE NATION. IN CLOSING, I'D LIKE TO HONOR THE LOVE I SAW IN SENATOR McCAIN. HE LOVED THE PEOPLE OF ARIZONA, SERVING THEM PASSIONATELY AND DILIGENTLY FOR DECADES. HE TOOK THAT SAME LOVE TO WASHINGTON AND BOLDLY ADVOCATED FOR FREEDOMS AND LIBERTIES HE HAD GROWN TO LOVE AS A YOUNG NAVY PILOT. BUT THE LOVE I SAW MOST WAS THE LOVE HE HAD FOR HIS WIFE CINDY AND HIS CHILDREN. I HEARD HIM SPEAK ABOUT THEM OFTEN, AND THE LOVE ALWAYS CAME POURING THROUGH IN EVERY WORD. SENATOR McCAIN, IT'S BEEN A TRUE HONOR TO CALL YOU FRIEND. YOUR TOUGHNESS AND BRAVERY INSPIRED US. YOUR SACRIFICE AND RISKED OUR LIVES. YOUR DEVOTION TO THE PEOPLE ARIZONA AND CONVICTIONS WON OUR ADMIRATION, LOVE SET AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL OF US TO FOLLOW. JACKIE ROBINSON ONCE SAID, LIFE IS NOT IMPORTANT EXCEPT IN THE IMPACT IT HAS ON OTHER LIVES. SENATOR McCAIN, WE WILL MISS THE BLESSINGS OF BEING IN YOUR PRESENCE BUT WILL NEVER FORGET THE IMPACT YOU HAD ON THE WORLD AND MORE IMPORTANTLY ON EACH OF THE LIVES THAT YOU TOUCHED. WE ARE ALL BETTER FOR HAVING KNOWING YOU. REST IN PEACE, MY FRIEND. [APPLAUSE
