D.C. United in 1997 -- has visited 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Dynamo defender Craig Waibel shares this historic road trip from the players' perspective:
Tuesday, May 29: Meeting the President
What a great day for our team! The visit to the White House was fabulous. We were given a tour of the east wing of the White House prior to watching Marine One touch down on the north lawn. We were able to watch the President land from a balcony on the second floor which provided a great view of the lawn and some of the monuments off in the distance.
Six of us greeted President Bush inside while the rest of the team waited outside on the risers (I think for security purposes they limit the number of people around the President when they can). After a brief conversation inside we escorted him outside to the table with the trophy and other gifts on it. He was very warm and inviting while greeting the team, drawing multiple luaghs and smiles with his humor.
After he stood for pictures with the team he went back inside where a few of us had the honor of presenting him with gifts on behalf of the team. Dom, Wade, Brad, Oliver Luck, and myself were able to present him with one of the ties that the whole team wore for the occassion, his own Dynamo jersey, a championship ring, a championship pendant for the First Lady, and an autographed ball.
He spent a good five to 10 minutes talking to us while inside. I found him to be a very warm and genuine man. He asked us many questions about ourselves and our backgrounds and impressed us multiple times with his knowledge of the game of soccer. He shared some of his interests with us and really made us feel comfortable in his home.
I never thought that I would get to meet a President in person, let alone in the White House because of an athletic achievement. My experiences in D.C. over the past four days have been nothing short of amazing and educational. I am extremely lucky to have been part of this organization on such a monumental weekend in the club's history. I hope you have enjoyed my updates from the nation's capital. Enjoy the week and go Dynamo!
Monday, May 28: Memorial tour
We won our reserve game Sunday 2-1. It was a pretty good performance for us as we created more than five great scoring chances and did what it took to win.
By the way, we had the louder fan base thanks to the traveling Texian Army! You guys were great on Saturday and Sunday! But enough about that ...
Sunday afternoon I headed out of the hotel and over to Arlington National Cemetary. After a stop to view the flame located on the site of the Kennedy family head stones I trudged up the hill to view the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Thanks to a great amount of luck I got there shortly before 5 p.m. ET and was able to witness the changing of the guards. I could never pen a sentence that could truly do justice for the men that serve at the Tomb and the job they did yesterday.
After that I walked over to the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial. Needless to say I was impressed by both. The final stop was at the "Wall." I have seen the Vietnam Memorial Wall in documentaries and on the TV, but never imagined the impact it would have on me when I stood in front of it in person.
I saw men and women running their fingers over the names on the wall of their lost loved ones. I saw letters left at the base of the wall written to troops that lost their lives to protect our freedoms. I saw photographs, flags and flowers left to honor the seemingly endless list of names etched into the stone. I was emotionally overwhelmed and can honestly say that the experience has changed me forever. I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for our armed forces and today did nothing but stengthen those feelings.
I am now allowing the thought of our prestigious visit to the White House to enter into my mind. I am still in disbelief that I will be honored by the President of the United States of America on the world-renowned grounds at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
I grew up in Idaho and Washington state, only seeing the White House on TV until I joined the MLS full time in 2000. I watched the news as a child and saw championship teams being honored at the White House and dreamed of being a part of that some day. Well, tommorrow is my chance!
After speaking with a lot of my teammates I can assure you all of a few things. We are all very proud to be representing the Houston Dynamo organization and the city of Houston, we are humbled by the fact that we have been invited to the White House and we will be taking plenty of pictures and telling our stories to all of you when we get home. Until tommorrow ...
Saturday, May 26: Game day
Game days are always somewhat predictable. We really can't waste any energy by being on our feet to much so most of the day is spent sitting and/or lying down.
Saturday morning was entertaining, though, with the NCAA Lacrosse final four. After watching Rocky movies for a couple of hours due to Brian Mullan's love of Sly Stallone I was able to pry the remote out of his hands and enjoy a couple of great games. I love lacrosse and both games were very entertaining.
I really don't have many game day rituals that start until after the pre game meal so the late afternoon was ... well ... boring.
We always eat as a team on game days exactly four hours prior to kickoff. After the meal we have a meeting where Dom gives us the scouting report and tactical pointers. I am currently at the time of day when my rituals begin, but now that I am writing this I have realized a change is probably needed.
I usually shave my head on game days following a loss but I am going to leave the stubble for now. I had been nearly positive that this single act will change our luck in the game tonight, but unfortunately after the 2-1 loss to United, the shaving routine is still messed up.
It has been a trying month for the team and our woes continue for the time being. I am looking forward to falling asleep and getting the day over with. Until tommorrow ...
Waibs
Friday, May 25: On the road again
Up and at them at eight this morning. I spent a couple of minutes talking to Davies and Dukes on AM 790 The Sports Animal before heading out to the field for our "day before a game training."
The attitude was great and everyone really seemed focused and ready to work. We practiced for about an hour and then showered up and headed straight to the airport. This trip is a bit different than normal. I usually travel extremely light, easily fitting everything I need in a backpack. However, this trip is different because we had to pack a suit for our visit to the White House. I'm OK with carrying the extra bag for that kind of payoff.
We arrived in D.C. and had a good evening as we prepare for our game against United. I joined five other guys (Ching, Onstad, Wade, Zach, and Righie) for dinner. Of course the usual banter of bald jokes about me and age jokes about Pat (he's 39) got tossed around quite a bit.
I'm excited about the game. Then, I am looking forward to becoming a tourist up here on such a wonderful weekend of honoring America's finest fallen soldiers, but am not allowing myself to start relaxing until about one o'clock on Sunday afternoon.
Until next time...
Waibs
