Happy Memorial Day weekend, America. As it is the holiday that salutes the men who have led this great nation of ours, we figured we would relive 10 of the most memorable sports related President Barack Obama moments.
For whatever reason, Obama has chosen to follow me on Twitter. I’ve even changed my Twitter bio to allude to this.
As my Twitter feed contains a link to every post that I write, there’s a chance that the 44th President could actually see this very post.
Probably a 1/1,000,000,000,000,000 chance, but still a chance nonetheless.
Sure, he follows 558,500 accounts, and that’s a lot.
However, there are also hundreds of millions of other accounts that he could follow instead. But enough with that stuff, let’s get to top sports moments in the personal history of Barack Obama. Click where highlighted for more on each specific episode.
When @BarackObama talked smack to @JoakimNoah and it backfired, badly: according to @davidaxelrod, in @ChrisCillizza ‘s new book. HAHA@CP3 commentary is priceless too! LOL
Book Review coming soon @ https://t.co/RDkCWPlMsJ#NBA #NBAPlayoffs #NBATwitterLive #BullsNation pic.twitter.com/HmicWQi8Nl— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) April 11, 2023
NBA All-Star Pick-up Game
See the tweet above, as it cites what happened in the mother of all pick-up games. It’s from Chris Cillizza’s new book “Power Players: Sports, Politics and the American Presidency. More on this pick-up game incident over at this link.
Obama is a huge basketball fan; it’s his favorite sport, and he’s actually pretty good at it.
Chicago White Sox Superfandom
Obama is the world’s most powerful and accomplished White Sox fan. When you go into the suites/press box main entrance at street level, at the White Sox home ballpark, you’ll see a huge photo of his throwing out the first pitch (while wearing a White Sox jacket) at the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis.
The Not Impressed Face
You recall the famous Fab 5 (later re-branded as the Fierce 5) USA Gymnastics team from the 2012 London Summer Olympics? McKayla Maroney, a member of the quintet, was of course “not impressed” during their medal ceremony, as she felt cheated by the judges.
The facial expression she made went crazy viral and Obama joined in doing the famous pose.
Having the Cubs at the White House
Good of Obama to get this in just under the final bell. And by the final bell I mean right before his disgusting revolting successor came in. Because who wants to go to Trump’s White House anyway.
Carrier Classic Speech
You just got to see it, go to this link. Basketball outdoors on an aircraft carrier is one hell of a concept.
Sitting Courtside with His V.P. and Now Current POTUS Joe Biden
Again, roundball is his favorite sport, as he was regular courtside staple for both the Georgetown Hoyas and the Washington Wizards.
And of course, as you know, his brother-in-law is former Oregon State basketball coach and former ESPN Analyst Craig Robinson.
Attending Manchester United vs FC Barcelona
Barack Obama is a very worldly man and he knows the world’s game- taking in this epic clash between two of the biggest clubs in the world.
Filling Out a March Madness Bracket Every Year
The first POTUS to compete in a bracket pool. Unfortunately, he picked Michigan State to win it all in 2014, as did a lot of people.
However, the Big Ten just does not win national titles.
2014 World Cup Phone Call to Tim Howard
Howard was nicknamed the “Secretary of Defense” and deservedly so for his transcendent performance at the 2014 World Cup. Barack Obama calling him was game recognizing game.
Presidential Medal of Freedom
He’s given this most prestigious of all civilian honors to many, including some athletes, like Ernie Banks and Boston Celtics legend/social pioneer Bill Russell.
Desire to Watch Big Ten Hoops Before Giving ’14 State of the Union
We spent a lot of extra time on this one because it is so legendary. Barack Obama is indeed all of us, with this anecdote.
To calm down before giving his high profile speech, Barack Obama wanted to watch ESPN, so he could see the Michigan State Spartans take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in a battle of top 15 teams.
His staffers shot it down, instead of watching UI vs MSU, they took control of the television and told the most powerful man in the world to watch C-SPAN instead,
A tweet from NBC’s Luke Russert said: “Told that in the Capitol hold room Obama wanted ESPN but said staff prefer he watch the filing in on C-SPAN ahead of #SOTU”
Say what? Who takes the remote control away from President Obama? Who actually wins a television face off with President Obama?
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.