Months after the Pittsburgh Penguins took home the Stanley Cup for the fourth time, the team is still celebrating – and not just in Pittsburgh.
President Barack Obama welcomed the team, along with Head Coach Mike Sullivan, Team Captain Sidney Crosby and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, to the White House on Thursday afternoon, following a tradition of honoring members of the nation’s sports teams for their achievements.
Obama was presented with a personalized Penguins jersey as well as a miniature Stanley Cup at the end of the ceremony.
“You don’t wake up many days to have the opportunity to interact with the president of the United States,” Sullivan said. “For our players to get recognized by the president . . . is really fulfilling.”
Obama described the team’s overarching victories as “bookends of (his) presidency,” as the Penguins took home their third win since 2009, when he first took office.
What I like best about this team’s victory is that no one thought they could pull it off.
President Barack Obama
“A lot has changed,” he said. “Back in 2009, the color of my hair matched the puck more than the ice, (and) ‘Sid the Kid’ was still a kid.”
While the president made plenty of jokes, admitting he “wasn’t the first to take a cheap shot” at Crosby, he acknowledged Crosby’s various awards and honors, as well as the difficulty the team faced in battling its way to the top, he said.
“What I like best about this team’s victory is that no one thought they could pull it off,” Obama said. “I obviously sympathize with that; they said the same thing about me.”
It wasn’t just the on-ice accomplishments that served as a testament to the kind of team the Penguins are, Obama said, but also the chemistry among the players that enabled them to thrive.
After winning the Stanley Cup, Crosby chose teammate and center Trevor Daley to get the second turn holding the trophy. Daley’s mother had been struggling with cancer during the playoffs, and she had told her son she’d fight the disease to continue to see him play.