WASHINGTON D.C. (BDCi) — Leave it to President Obama to put it best, the Los Angeles Galaxy are beginning to “get comfortable” at the White House, but that does not mean that visiting the President is any less of an honor for the two-time defending MLS Cup champions.
On Tuesday, the Galaxy were honored at the White House for winning their second consecutive MLS Cup title in 2012. Unlike last year, they were alone as they were joined by the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, who are also owned by AEG.
Although the Galaxy have visited the President before, the accomplishment meant a great deal to the club.
“It’s incredible. It’s surreal coming here and for us to do it two years in a row and have the same president greet these guys, he knows a little bit more about us and to be able to meet him is such an honor,” club president Chris Klein told LAGalaxy.com.
During the president’s remarks, he reflected upon the Galaxy’s triumphant 2012 season even noticing the correlation between LA’s rise up the standings after their visit with him.
“You can call it a coincidence, but I just want to point out that right after they visited with me, the Galaxy built the best record in the league,” Obama said.
However as he touched on their triumph, the President saved a little mention for Brazilian midfielder Juninho, who he stated was “dancing the samba” as Los Angeles lifted their second straight MLS Cup. After the President’s speech, Juninho was understandably emotional to receive such acclaim from Obama.
“Obama is my guy and always friendly. He always makes jokes and he made a joke about my samba and it was nice,” Juninho told LA Galaxy.com. “Personally, it’s very emotional. The President of the United States said my name, so it’s very nice. I never thought this was going to happen and I’m feeling very happy.”
Following their visit with the President, Todd Dunivant, Mike Magee and Landon Donovan participated in a question and answer session with schoolchildren from across the country with assistant White House Chief Sam Kass, who is director of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign which promotes exercise and healthy eating.
The Galaxy trio were also joined by three Kings players, Dustin Brown, defenseman Rob Scuderi and goaltender Jonathan Quick who informed the students how their eating habits and exercise took them to the professional ranks.
After inspiring children and meeting the President, Dunivant admitted that the Galaxy are now hoping to make the White House visit for a third year in a row.
“It never gets old, it’s a huge honor and a really nice perk of winning a championship,” said Dunivant. “We’d love to do it every year if we can.”
Source: lagalaxy.com