Obama greets football team

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama congratulated the Alabama football team on its 2009 national championship in a White House ceremony Monday.

“I think it’s safe to say that the Tide is back,” Obama said, as head coach Nick Saban stood at his side in the East Room. Most of the Alabama squad, along with UA President Robert Witt and Mal Moore, the athletic director, stood behind the president during his six-minute remarks.

Obama, who had returned from a morning visit to Philadelphia moments before meeting with the team, took note of Saban’s second national championship – his first was at Louisiana State University – in six years. “There’s no question that this team is here in large part because of what Coach Saban has done,” Obama said.

Obama also recognized Mark Ingram as Alabama’s first Heisman Trophy winner and Rolando McClain, who did not make the trip in preparation for the NFL Draft, for earning the Butkus Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate linebacker.

After his speech, which ended with “Roll Tide,” Obama accepted a football, a jersey and a helmet with the number 13 on it. The president declined Javier Arenas’ suggestion to try on the helmet saying, “I don’t want to mess up my ‘do.”

Alabama senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby visited with the team, and Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, an Alabama native, was in attendance during Obama’s speech. Around the East Room, at least two Secret Service agents sported ties with the Alabama athletic logo and one reporter, Christi Parsons of the Los Angeles Times, a Tuscaloosa native and UA alumna, wore houndstooth for the occasion.

However, at least one senior White House official stayed away from the team during its visit to the nation’s most famous residence. Obama said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who grew up in Auburn, was “hiding in his office.”

On Twitter, Gibbs said, “I prefer to remember the other 58 min[ute]s of [the] Iron Bowl.”

Quarterback Greg McElroy also used Twitter to chronicle his feelings about the day, updating his profile throughout the trip. In a post after the White House visit, McElroy noted, “Obama was much taller than [I] expected.”

In addition, the team visited several Washington landmarks during its brief visit, including the Capitol and the Pentagon.

The trip also had a service component as the squad met with a group of students from Washington to discuss staying in school and personal health.