President Barack Obama will host the Ohio State University Buckeyes at the White House on Monday to celebrate their victory at the College Football Playoff National Championship.
This visit follows a call Obama made to the team’s coach, Urban Meyer, in January after the big win.
Sophomore Cardale Jones tweeted about the upcoming visit Monday morning, writing, “About to go holla at B real quick, yall might call him President Obama, we go wayyyyyy back tho”.
Linebacker Joe Burger used Twitter to get advice ahead of the big visit, asking, “Biggest question of the day, go for the regular handshake with @BarackObama or go for the dap?”
His teammate, Defensive Tackle Mike Bennett, responded with a third option: “I’m goin in for a hug.”
Wide Receiver Evan Spencer also tweeted about the upcoming visit, saying, “Sitting here planning my presidential selfie…”
But selfies with the President can sometimes lead to controversy. During his visit last year, Red Sox Designated Hitter David Ortiz caused a stir after a selfie he took with Obama turned out to be part of a viral marketing campaign for Samsung.
This is actually Coach Meyer’s third visit to the White House. He was there following his 2007 and 2008 wins with the Florida Gators — allowing him to meet both Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush.
After the second visit, he compared those two visits with Sports Illustrated Magazine.
“First one was George Bush [in 2007],” said Meyer. “I love him. It was great. I still keep in touch with him.”
“President Obama was fantastic,” he added. “I’ll never forget he said: ‘I want to shake every man’s hand.'”
Ohio State is the first team to win the College Football championship under a playoff system – something fans and the media have desired for years. Before, teams competed in the BCS championship game which was made up of two teams. The new playoff system is now a four-team system that consists of two national semifinal games and a final.
