Bush Hosts Patriots Again
By Tim Heaney
WASHINGTON, April 13 -The World Series champion Boston Red Sox were rewarded with a trip to the South Lawn of the White House last month. This month, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots earned themselves a visit to the Rose Garden.
President George W. Bush Wednesday welcomed to the White House more than 30 members of the football team for the third time during his presidency.
“You know, the commentators would say, well, they’re not the flashiest bunch, they’re not the fanciest bunch, they just happen to be the best team,” Bush said. “They’re the team that showed that when you play together, when you serve something greater than yourself, you win.”
The Patriots have won three of the last four Super Bowls, the first team to accomplish that feat since the Dallas Cowboys in 1993, 1994 and 1996. The Patriots have won nine straight playoff games dating back to 2002.
Bush said the Patriots’ leadership of quarterback Tom Brady, head coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft exemplified what it entails to win while maintaining a serious tone.
“I’m pretty impressed with the way you handle yourself,” the president said.. “I think some of us involved in the political arena could — could spend a little time getting tutelage on how to handle the mike like you do,” Bush said, referring to Belichick’s notoriously curt postgame interviews.
The Patriots also spoke of their visits to wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and the Naval Medical Center in suburban Bethesda, Md. The team said that the experience put their accomplishments into perspective, and made them realize the sacrifices the soldiers made for their country.
“To go in there and see the troops, it makes what we do seem so unimportant,” Brady said in a press conference following the White House ceremony. “We admire them more than we could ever express.”
Bush honored linebacker and fan favorite Tedy Bruschi for his courage on and off the field. Bruschi joined the team for the visit after suffering a stroke in February. Bruschi was smiling while greeting invited guests, and Brady said he was in good spirits.
“It was the same old Tedy,” he said. “We were all scared when it initially happened, but it was good to see him back there.”
All of the Patriots’ Super Bowl victories came by a margin of 3 points, with kicker Adam Vinatieri gaining celebrity with last-second field goals against the St. Louis Rams in 2002 and the Carolina Panthers in 2004. Vinatieri did not make the trip because of the birth of his second child.
While acknowledging the New England congressional delegation in attendance, Bush said that the region’s sports presence at the White House was becoming redundant. “I’m surprised more of the delegation hasn’t come, but, you know, Red Sox one week, Patriots the next — it’s getting to be old hat here,” he said.
Kraft presented the president with a “Bush 1” white home jersey. Belichick presented Bush with a hooded gray Patriots sweatshirt like the one the coach has consistently sported during the Patriots’ run.
Kraft promised Bush the team would return, while taking advice from Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy.
“I hope we keep this reunion going, and next year if we’re blessed to be here, we’ll follow Sen. Kennedy’s advice and bring the cheerleaders,” Kraft said.
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