President Obama Cracks Jokes, Welcomes NCAA Champion Duke Basketball Team to White House
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Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama welcomed the Duke University men’s basketball team that won last year’s national championship to the White House on Tuesday, cracking jokes and enjoying the afternoon.
“We thought about inviting the Cameron Crazies here,” Obama said, referring to Duke’s rabid student section, “but I didn’t want any blue paint smudging my walls.” Obama predicted the Blue Devils’ run to the Final Four last season, but had them losing there.
Obama called Duke’s head coach Mike Krzyzewski “an up-and-coming coach” with “a lot of potential,” grinning as he joked about the five-time champion.
The jokes continued when he brought his focus back to the Duke program. “I can relate to this program,” Obama said. “Does well in the classroom; won twice in the past four years; know what it’s like for people to oppose you no matter what you try to do.”
“When I flip on ESPN and see a documentary about how people still ‘hate’ Christian Laettner, a guy who played for Duke 23 years ago, I realize, well, maybe I don’t have it so bad…or I think this is going to be a long 23 years,” he added.
Krzyzewski gave the president the typical team basketball and a Duke jersey, throwing in an invite to Duke’s fantasy camp, “for guys 35 and older.”
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