WASHINGTON – MLS champions didn't always get invited to the White House back when Peter Vermes won the MLS Cup as a player with the Kansas City Wizards at the turn of the century.
So the Sporting Kansas City manager was every bit as enthused as his smiling players as President Barack Obama and his staff gave the 2013 champs a warm welcome to the Executive Residence on Wednesday afternoon, hailing their achievements on the field as well as their contributions to their community in a ceremony in the lavishly appointed East Room.
And Vermes – along with everyone else in Sporting colors – made clear that this is not to be a one-off occasion.
- Get more content from Sporting's White House visit at SportingKC.com
“This is an incredible honor for all of us. And more importantly, hopefully we can do it again and we can show up here and see you again in a year,” Vermes told the Commander in Chief as the club gifted Obama a customized Sporting jersey and champion's medal.
“We're extremely appreciative of the opportunity,” he added in a media availability after the ceremony. “It gives you a little more motivation to make sure you try and come back again, so you win another championship.”
However, the President made clear that SKC hadn't earned the invite merely for their trophy-winning performance in last year's MLS Cup playoffs.
Obama took care to hail their many ties to their fans and neighbors, including charitable activities like The Victory Project and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and even defender Aurelien Collin's fashion line – “He's got the pocket square, the earrings – I'm going to look like him after I get out of office, he looks pretty sharp” – and men's clothing shop.
“In the same way that Kansas City has embraced the soccer team, the soccer team has embraced the city,” said Obama. “I know that the entire city is very, very proud of them.”
Like many before them, Sporting have encountered resistance as they defend their title, having slipped down the Eastern Conference standings thanks to a 1-5-0 skid in their last six matches. But they're hopeful that Wednesday's celebration of last year's magic can help trigger a fall resurgence in time for the postseason, starting with Friday night's match against East-leading D.C. United at RFK Stadium, a few Metro stops east of the White House.
“It's more of a motivational thing,” said midfielder Benny Feilhaber, dismissing the suggestion that the special occasion might distract his team. “We all want to come back here again, and in order to do that we've got to do something special again.”
