Remarks by the President Honoring the Stanley Cup Champion LA Kings and MLS Cup Champion LA Galaxy

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

East Room

2:00 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  (Applause.)  Welcome to the White House.  And welcome back to the back-to-back MLS champion, the L.A. Galaxy.  (Applause.)  I was telling these guys, they’re starting to get a little comfortable around here because they just keep on coming back.

But this time they brought some company -- the Stanley Cup champion, L.A. Kings.  (Applause.)  

Now, it is great to have both teams here not just because they share a hometown.  I’m a little resentful coming from Chicago that L.A. seems to be getting all these championships.  But they don’t just share a hometown, they also share a pretty good comeback story.

When it comes to the Galaxy, a team with Landon Donovan on it is rarely the underdog.  But when the Galaxy was here last year, their chances of repeating as champions didn’t look all that good.  The injury bug plagued the team.  It seemed like it might be a rebuilding year.  But right after that visit, they turned things around.  And you can call it a coincidence, but I just want to point out that right after they visited with me -- (laughter) -- the Galaxy built the best record in the league.

In the MLS Cup Final, the Galaxy trailed at halftime, and it stayed that way until Omar Gonzalez, who is with the national team today, scored the equalizer in the 60th minute.  A few minutes after that, Landon did what he does best and scored the go-ahead goal.  And pretty soon, they were up 3-1, and then midfielder Juninho was probably dancing the samba -- (laughter) -- the MLS Cup belonged to L.A. for the second straight year, and that was the fourth in Galaxy history.

Now, the Kings’ story is a little bit different.  These guys were not defending champions.  In fact, before last year, L.A. had never won the Stanley Cup.  And after switching head coaches midseason -- a coach, I should add, who got good training from the Chicago Blackhawks -- (laughter) -- squeaking into the playoffs as a number eight seed, it looked like the streak of not winning was going to continue.  No eight seed had ever won a championship in any of our professional sports.

But something happened during the playoffs -- timing is everything.  And as center Jarret Stoll says, “We all came together at the right time, and we all peaked at the right time.”  With playoff MVP Jonathan Quick playing lights out in goal, these guys just kept winning game after game after game.  And eventually, the rest of the league started to take notice. 

Captain Dustin Brown put it best before the final game.  He said, “I don’t know what 45 years of energy sounds like.  But if we play our game, maybe we’ll find out.”  And that night at the Staples Center, they found out.  And America found out that Southern California actually has some pretty intense hockey fans.  (Applause.)

So I’m going to be a good sport -- these guys pointed out that they beat my Blackhawks last night.  I will also say that, given this season how rare it is to beat the Blackhawks, I want to congratulate them for that as well.  (Laughter.)

We also found out that both these teams are full of some pretty stand-up players and coaches.  They’re out in the community year-round.  They’re changing lives, they’re making a difference.  As Coach Arena of the Galaxy says, “The soccer is very much secondary.  If we can have an impact on the lives of young kids, we want to be a part of that.”

And that’s something we all appreciate, especially those of us who are parents.  And we are thrilled that you guys are sticking around to host a Let’s Move question-and-answer session with kids from all across the country.

So I want to give a hearty congratulations to both the Kings and the Galaxy one more time for bringing two championships to L.A. and for doing so much for your fans back in California. 

And we also know that there are a couple of Galaxy players who couldn’t be here because of World Cup qualifying, so I want to wish Team USA the very best of luck as they take on Mexico tonight.  I hope both these teams have a great rest of the season.

So everybody give them a big round of applause.  Congratulations.  (Applause.)

All right, are we going to do the jerseys at the podium?  So, Landon, what do we got here?

MR. DONOVAN:  We have a ball for you, and then we’ve got a -- (laughter) -- and then we’ve got a jersey for you.

THE PRESIDENT:  I hope you guys caught that.  (Laughter.)  That doesn’t happen very often.

MR. DONOVAN:  And a jersey.

THE PRESIDENT:  That is a nice-looking jersey.  Thank you.  (Applause.) 

So am I going to stand over here?  And what do we got here?

MR. BROWN:  Just a jersey here.

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s a good-looking jersey.  Forty-four -- it’s a lucky number.  All right, thank you.

END
2:06 P.M. EDT

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President Obama to Honor MLS Cup Champion Los Angeles Galaxy and Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings at The White House

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

Teams to Host a Let’s Move! Clinic on the South Lawn Following the Ceremony for children from Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, March 26, President Obama will welcome the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings and the Major League Soccer champion LA Galaxy to the White House to honor their 2012 championship seasons in a ceremony at the White House.  This visit will also continue the tradition begun by President Obama of honoring sports teams for their efforts to give back to communities as part of their trip to Washington.

After the ceremony, the teams will host a Let’s Move! clinic on the South Lawn of the White House for youth sport participants from across the country.  The clinic is supported by MLS WORKS, MLS’s community outreach initiative that promotes the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, and the Kings Care Foundation, the club’s community outreach initiative that is focused on providing and enhancing educational, recreational, and health-related programs for the youth of Los Angeles. The children participating in the clinic come from the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s Soccer for Success program in Philadelphia, America SCORES programs in Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland and Washington, D.C. and NHL’s Hockey is for Everyone programs in Washington, D.C., Columbus, Detroit and Philadelphia.

Background information on youth sports programs participating:

MLS WORKS
MLS WORKS is Major League Soccer's community outreach initiative dedicated to addressing important social issues and serves as a platform for both League and club philanthropic programs. MLS WORKS seeks to establish Major League Soccer as a leader for improving the lives of people through sport.

LA Galaxy Foundation 
The LA Galaxy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to helping children through educational, health and soccer based initiatives and programs.  LA Galaxy Foundation will continue to support organizations and activities dedicated to encouraging, educating and empowering the children in our community.

Kings Care Foundation
The Kings Care Foundation is the award-winning, non-profit children’s charity of the Los Angeles Kings. Formed in 1996, the Kings Care Foundation is dedicated to providing children in the Greater Los Angeles area with educational and recreational opportunities and has donated nearly $8 million in monetary and in-kind donations. The Kings Care Foundation is proud to support the local community by making a direct impact on the lives of nearly one million children
throughout Southern California each year.

Soccer for Success
The U.S. Soccer Foundation, the major charitable arm of soccer in the United States, runs the national after-school program Soccer for Success.  Soccer for Success provides children in urban underserved areas with structured physical activity, nutrition education and mentorship, for 90 minutes a day, three times per week for 24 weeks per year, at no cost to their families. Soccer for Success ensures that children in under-resourced communities have easy and affordable access to a  high quality out-of-school program that supports their physical and personal development. The children participating in the event are from a Better Tomorrows community in Philadelphia, where the U.S. Soccer Foundation partners with the JT Dorsey Foundation to implement the program.

America SCORES
America SCORES provides innovative afterschool and summer programming which combine soccer, poetry and spoken word, and service-learning every day for over 24 weeks each year. America SCORES participants receive ten times more exercise than the national average and lower their BMI by 2% by the end of each season. Using soccer as a tool to encourage fitness, sportsmanship, and leadership, America SCORES inspires the life-long appreciation of sports and health-enhancing behaviors like choosing to eat more fruit and vegetables, participating in organized sports and spending less time watching television and playing video games. Each year, America SCORES serves 8,000 students at 150 schools through fourteen affiliates located in major urban centers across the United States.

NHL’s Hockey is for Everyone
Hockey is for Everyone™ (HIFE) is the National Hockey League's official youth development program. HIFE provides support and unique programing to non-profit youth hockey organizations across North America that are committed to offering children of all backgrounds opportunities to play hockey. The HIFE initiative leverages the sport of hockey as a catalyst to help children learn essential life skills, education and the core values of hockey: commitment, perseverance, and teamwork.

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