Hello Dynamo fans,
What an experience! The guys are still on cloud nine after the team's visit to the White House on Tuesday, May 29. The only thing that was missing was the orange carpet! Needless to say, the team was honored to have been invited. Let's face it, no matter what your politics, the President of the United States is the most powerful person on the globe and the fact that he was willing to take a half hour of his time to visit with the defending champs was special. As you may know, we were only the second MLS team in league history to enjoy the privilege of being recognized by the President for winning MLS Cup.
Let me share a few details of the day. First of all, the players enjoyed the thrill of watching from the South Balcony the landing of Marine One, the official presidential helicopter. President Bush spent the morning in Georgia giving a speech on the immigration legislation pending in the Senate. He flew back to Andrews Air Force Base and then climbed aboard Marine One to fly to the White House. Presidential buffs may know that there are actually three helicopters known as "Marine One" and they always fly together as a security precaution. Just as they come around the Washington Monument and turn south for the landing on the South Lawn of the White House the two aircraft not carrying the President peel off allowing the helicopter with the President to land. We all appreciated how neat it was to be less than a corner kick away from Marine One as it descended onto the South Lawn.
President Bush, as most folks know, is a big sports fan, which I suppose is to be expected from the former owner of the Texas Rangers. He took a good bit of time to talk with a small group of players and Coach Kinnear before and after the group photo. The conversation ranged from congratulations on the Dynamo success last year to a request from Brad Davis to go hunting at the Bush ranch in Crawford (the President was "non-committal" to Brad). The President also mentioned the quality men's soccer program that his wife's alma mater (SMU) has developed and asked Craig Waibel if Craig's alma mater (University of Washington) was any good. In addition, he made a strong comment to the entire team to be good role models to kids.
He learned that Paul Dalglish was still waiting on his green card, at which time Stuart Holden piped up with the news that he just became an American citizen. Dom and the players were able to present the President with a number of gifts, including a Dynamo championship ring, a pendant for the First Lady, an autographed ball as well as a "No. 1" jersey. Pat Onstad provided a pair of keeper gloves so you may just see the President wearing them on his next mountain bike trip. All in all, I was very impressed with the relaxed way the President spoke with the players and coaches.
All in all, this was a great day for the franchise, for MLS, and for all Houstonians.
