WASHINGTON — With just 137 days until college football returns, the 2017 National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide football team made a visit to D.C. where they were honored at the White House.
While this was Alabama’s fifth trip to the White House in the last nine years, it was the team’s first visit since President Donald Trump has been in office.
“Every moment of hard work and preparation for Alabama paid off,” Trump said. “We’re proud of you. We’re proud of your teammates. Each member of this incredible football program, you can all be proud of yourselves.”
Trump also used the meeting with the Crimson Tide to include a boast of his own performance in the state in the 2016 election.
“And that is a great, great state. I know because I won it by 32 points,” he said.
Trump also took a jab at the media in his remarks.
“I actually think more than that, but anyway. You know, with the press, you like to keep it low because they’ll always correct you.”
Trump was in attendance for at least part of the College Football Playoff National Championship game in January, when Alabama beat the Georgia Bulldogs at the all-new Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta.
The team’s trip to the White House comes as Nick Saban prepares to try to pass legendary Alabama Coach “Bear” Bryant for most national championships with 18.
Visits to the White House have turned into a topic of debate as the NBA’s Golden State Warriors chose not to go during their trip to the nation’s capitol.
Last season’s College Football Champions, Clemson, did.
In an interview Monday, Alabama senior lineman Ross Pierchbacher said the team was very excited to go to the White House.
“Coach Saban addressed it and said, ‘Hey, we’re doing this regardless of your political thoughts. We’re going, just to celebrate this team. It’s an honor. And just to be able to say that you’ve gone to the White House is something you can cherish forever.'”
Terrell Lewis, a D.C. native, did not make the trip to the White House, due to his grandmother’s funeral.
Coach Saban presented President Trump with a No. 17 Alabama jersey, signifying not only the 2017 championship season, but the 17 national titles the school has won.
“This season was a little bit of a metaphor of life,” Saban said. “In terms of the togetherness, the hard work, the perseverance that these young men sort of put together to overcome a lot of adversity, to create a legacy for a lifetime and a memory for a lifetime for them because of what they were able to accomplish together as a team.”
The Crimson Tide will kick off the defense of their title and the 2018 season against Louisville on Saturday, Sept. 1 in Orlando, Florida.
