Obama welcomes Chicago Cubs to White House
After being honored at the White House on Monday afternoon, the Chicago Cubs revealed the real reason why they desperately wanted to make the trip before President Barack Obama left office.
Touring the White House and being celebrated for their first championship since 1908 was certainly fun for the team, but it wasn’t nearly as important as converting the die-hard White Sox fan into a Cubs fan, a task more difficult than turning Hillary Clinton supporters into Donald Trump backers.
Cubs President Theo Epstein said they offered Obama a “midnight pardon” to switch to the Cubs.
When Obama stopped laughing, Epstein turned up the heat. The Cubs presented Obama with several gifts that Epstein said would “recognize this terrific conversion on this great day,” including a No. 44 panel from Wrigley Field’s scoreboard, recognizing his status as the 44th president, a lifetime pass to Wrigley, a No. 44 jersey, and a “W” flag signed by Cubs players that Epstein said should be flown at his presidential library in Chicago.
Obama said the gifts were the “best swag I’ve got since I’ve been president.”
The ceremony began with Obama poking fun at the Cubs’ storied drought, saying, “They said this day would never come,” and pointing out none of his predecessors “ever got a chance to say welcome to the White House, the World Series champion Cubs. It took you long enough. I’ve only got four days left.”
Several Cubs players who’ve left the team this winter flew in, including Dexter Fowler, Aroldis Chapman, Trevor Cahill and Chris Coghlan, while some of the current Cubs missed the trip, including Jon Lester, John Lackey and Jake Arrieta.
The Cubs celebration was the last public White House event of Obama’s presidency. All in all, it was a fitting final chapter for the Cubs, and a nice last hurrah for Obama as well.
“What an amazing experience, to get to enjoy today with the guys on this team,” said first baseman Anthony Rizzo. “It’s something we’ll never forget and you never take for granted. This is one of the best days I've ever had."