East Room
2:25 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Everybody have a seat. Everybody have a seat. Welcome to the White House, everybody. Congratulations to the NCAA Champion UConn Huskies. (Applause.) Congratulations to Coach Auriemma on your record-tying eighth national championship. (Applause.) I see this guy too much. (Laughter.) Keep in mind, a lot of Presidents don’t even get eight years in the White House. (Laughter.) He’s spent more time than some Presidents in the White House. (Laughter.) And he’s not term-limited, so he can just keep on going.
We’ve got UConn President, Susan Herbst is here. (Applause.) Where did she go? There she is up here. I wasn’t sure where she was sitting. We’ve got some outstanding Huskies fans in the house, including several proud members of your congressional delegation. So give them a big round of applause. (Applause.)
Probably the most important person here is not Coach Geno, but Coach Geno’s mom, who is here. So please give her a big round of applause — (applause) — who is so proud. And she’s gorgeous. And that’s where you got a good head of hair. (Laughter.) So I have to say to the Huskies, I’ve missed you guys. It’s been, what, a couple years? Seniors Heather Buck, Caroline Doty made the trip to the White House in 2009. So this is an old hat for them. Kelly Faris joined them in 2010. Back then, they were in the middle of a 90-game winning streak.
I reminded Geno at the time, when I called him, that over the first 23 months I was in office he didn’t lose once. He just pointed out to me that when they won the championship, I went on to win reelection. So he thinks we’ve got a good thing going here. (Laughter.)
Now, most years, I think for most teams, being a champion isn’t about dominating the way that you did back then. It’s about being at your best when the stakes are highest. And that’s what made this team so special.
To get to that national title, they had to go through a team that, let’s face it, had had your number during some previous games: Notre Dame. Heading into this season’s tournament you had played them three times, you had lost three — that heartbreaker in the Big East finals.
After that game, some teams might have lowered their sights. But rather than get discouraged, Geno gathered you together in the locker room, I understand, and said, “I’m going to show you how to win a championship.” And as Kelly pointed out, Geno is pretty good at his job. He knows how to win championships.
So it looked tough at the time, but these folks didn’t stop believing in themselves. I have to confess that …read more
Source: White House Press Office