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    Power Players

    A ring, a championship, and a trip to the White House

    By ABC News | Power Players – Mon, Feb 6, 2012

    Political Punch

    The New York Giants are headed to the White House. The newly-minted Super Bowl champions can expect an invitation from the president in the near future, continuing the time-honored tradition of championship sports teams coming to the White House.

    The presidential embrace of sports dates back as far as 1865, when President Andrew Johnson welcomed members of the Brooklyn Atlantic baseball team to the White House. The tradition of inviting championship sports teams to the White House started about three decades later, when President Coolidge welcomed the Washington Senators baseball team after their World Series triumph in 1924. But President Reagan is credited with truly cementing regular visits of champions to the White House. Now, the promise of a visit to see the president is as much a part of the victory lap as a visit to Disneyland.

    A White House visit can be an enticement for a team, especially if the president is rooting against you. Just ask the Green Bay Packers. They defeated President Obama's beloved Chicago Bears in the 2010 NFC Championship. Afterward, Packers player Charles Woodson pumped up his teammates by telling them if the president wouldn't come to see them play in the Super Bowl, they would go see him. The Packers went on to take it all and Obama took his lumps, welcoming the Packers to the White House, joking that they came to rub it in. But the president did eventually get to welcome the Bears, when the 1985 team visited the White House in October of last year. The '85 Bears never got to visit the White House because of the Challenger disaster that same year.

    Giants fans can count on seeing their beloved team on the White House grounds soon enough.

     
    • Walt
      Walt  •  3 mths ago
      Now we know why those normally sure handed receivers for New England kept dropping passes.
      • aow
        aow 3 mths ago
        because they're chokers
    • Janie in TX
      Janie in TX  •  3 mths ago
      Will Obama bow to them?
    • Gregory
      Gregory  •  East Brunswick, New Jersey  •  3 mths ago
      yet our Iraq War Heros will not get their parade, which is much more deserved, while a bunch of overpaid ball chasers get one, compliments of NY Mayor Bloomturd. This wrong, so very very wrong
    • E
      E  •  Jersey City, New Jersey  •  3 mths ago
      So form 1865 to 1924 is three decades? Oh and here I though a decade was 10 years! I can thank Yahoo and their superb writing and simple arithmetic skills for clearing that up.
    • AlanR
      AlanR  •  Irvine, California  •  3 mths ago
      What an HONOR get to hear first hand from the President that he want's you all to pay more TAXES because your successful and should share your wealth. SACK the sucker guys
    • richard
      richard  •  3 mths ago
      rings cost a bundle but they look real tacky
    • J
      J  •  New York, New York  •  3 mths ago
      Why would Tom wife would call quarterback husband a loser? It's stupid thing to say. She have tons of money and have right to say bad things about her husband. weird and crazy lady.
    • hose b
      hose b  •  3 mths ago
      How about a parade for the returning Iraq war vets!
      • Sarah O
        Sarah O 3 mths ago
        Right, cause the vets did SUCH a good job there....give me a break.
      • harvey
        harvey 3 mths ago
        Well the only ones allowed stateside have been the few units scheduled for rotation, the rest went directly to socorta island and await the next 50K soldiers authorized by Obama by March for their new war with iran.
      • hose b
        hose b 3 mths ago
        Sarah O, If I weren't a gentleman, I would slap you!
    • Barry
      Barry  •  Reno, Nevada  •  3 mths ago
      How about inviting all the soldiers putting their lives on the line everyday for this country to the white house.
      • young lady at heart
        young lady at heart 3 mths ago
        never happen he does not like the military
      • Madashell And Wonttakeita ...
        Madashell And Wonttakeita ... 3 mths ago
        Bush put so many American lives on the line it would take the Washingtom mall, not the Whitehouse, to fit them all in. Then you'd have to talk Bush into coming back for the event just to apologize for the mistake he made, the treasure in lives, wounded and money he cost us, and, if you actually want to be moral about it, all of the "collateral" damage and lives he cost as well. The Republican penchant for blaming Obama for that mess is about as hypocritical as it gets, even for Republicans.
      • Dr Sundevil
        Dr Sundevil 3 mths ago
        m and w: what doe bush have to do with the giants going to the wh? you are a couple of idiots!!!!
    • Greg S
      Greg S  •  Jamesburg, New Jersey  •  3 mths ago
      so where is the Parde for our War Heros???? Oh yea, the dopey #$%$ mayor of NY refuses to have one yet will have one for a bunch of football players. What an absolute #$%$ Bloomberg is
      • Peter-WendyC
        Peter-WendyC 3 mths ago
        Don't forget all the hoopla about the "first responders" even though they were doing their job. Our servicemen and women die and are crippled for life but don't get the attention that NYPD or NYFD did.
    • Carl
      Carl  •  Raleigh, North Carolina  •  3 mths ago
      They should make New England go to the white house as punishment for losing!
    • william
      william  •  Kingstree, South Carolina  •  3 mths ago
      Don't go fellers it's a trap you'll have to sign pledges.
    • gattay46
      gattay46  •  3 mths ago
      wonder if he's going to ask them to pay there fair share
    • *****SJ
      *****SJ  •  Detroit, Michigan  •  3 mths ago
      Way to go, Giants!!
    • jld
      jld  •  Olean, New York  •  3 mths ago
      would love to know whos footing the bill for these #$%$ trips of sports teams to wine and dine at the white house
    • SJM
      SJM  •  Shelton, Connecticut  •  3 mths ago
      So three decades after 1865 is 1924? Why does Yahoo hire morons?
    • Jimmie
      Jimmie  •  3 mths ago
      White House visits impress me less than coupons in Sunday's paper.
    • P-47 THUNDERBOLT
      P-47 THUNDERBOLT  •  3 mths ago
      Take the ring and the hell with the white house. Go to Disneyland and take the kids.
    • Insane LSU Fan
      Insane LSU Fan  •  Tyler, Texas  •  3 mths ago
      Yes, I'm sure the visit to see Obama was THE FIRST THING THE GIANTS THOUGHT OF after the game. I tell you, the laughable extent to which the Yahoo Obama Propaganda and Cheerleading Network (as represented by the Always Barack Channel) (ABC) is actually a HOOT to see in action. ANYTHING to prop up Obama..... LOL
    • Jeff
      Jeff  •  Kalamazoo, Michigan  •  3 mths ago
      Obama was the first president in 56 years to snub the American Legion’s “Salute the Heroes” (recipients of Medal of Honor) Inaugural ball. Perhaps his ego couldn’t handle being surrounded by actual heroes? But he will continuing the time-honored tradition of championship sports teams coming to the White House. This shows the true make of the Man.
      Reply
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