Photo:ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty
The Kansas Chiefs touched down at the White House on Monday, where they met with PresidentJoe Bidentocelebrate their 2023 Super Bowl triumph.
The Super Bowl champions stood behind POTUS as he congratulated the team on their victory, though Biden admitted that his wife, first lady Dr. Jill Biden, was not happy with the Chiefs' win over her beloved Philadelphia Eagles. He commended the Chiefs on “dominating the league” this season and persevering when analysts doubted them.
Biden delivered individual compliments to quarterbackPatrick Mahomes, tight endTravis Kelceand head coach Andy Reid during his statement. Later, he honoredthe late Norma Hunt, whose husband Lamar founded the NFL team.
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Perseverance was largely a theme of Biden’s speech on Monday. The president spoke highly of the Chiefs for “working together as a team” and striving to “bring out the best in each other” in their championship season. He compared the “power of sports” to the “power of this country,” in its ability to “remind us who we are as Americans.”
“We are theUnitedStates of America and there’s nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together like these guys behind me,” Biden said.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty
Reid spoke at the celebration on Monday, thanking the White House for excellent hospitality and (repeatedly) praising the food during the visit. The head coach thanked the organization’s staff, coaches, and players for “a phenomenal job” this season, and Chiefs fans for their support of the team. “It’s at home, it’s on the road, you’re the best fans in the business.”
“I’m proud to be the coach of the Kansas City Chiefs,” Reid said.
As Mahomes and Kelce joined Biden on stage for photos, Kelce made the audience laugh when he pretended to deliver a speech of his own at the podium. As Kelce began to say, “So, I’ve been waiting for this –,” his pal Mahomes teasingly pulled him from the podium before he could continue.
Despite winning the Super Bowl three times in their history, the visit marked the first time that the franchise met with a sitting president and toured the White House. In 2020, the team’s visit was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. And the tradition had not yet been in place when the Chiefs won the Vince Lombardi trophy in 1970.
“It’s been a long wait to stand before you,” Reid said during his speech, referring to the 2020 cancellation. “We’re fired up. We missed the first one due to COVID but we are here strong, man. Kansas City strong.”
In social media posts throughout the afternoon, the team marked the big day.
Mahomes, wearing a sharp light-blue suit, posted a carousel of photos to his Instagram Story, including a selfie featuring the quarterback, Chad Henne and Skyy Moore posed along the steps outside the Rose Garden.
patrick mahomes/instagram
A separate post showed the team readying for their photo opp with the president, as Mahomes panned the camera to show the full extent of the Chiefs personnel, ending with a shot of palTravis Kelcesmiling in a red satin jacket and black t-shirt combo.
The trip has been long anticipated for the team.
Last week on an episode of Kelce’sNew Heightspodcast with brotherJason Kelce, Travis said that he was psyched for the Washington, D.C. field trip.
“What are you most excited to see at the White House?” Jason, 35, asked his little brother.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“I wanna see the hidden Oval Office,” Travis, 33, joked.
Sadly, the celebration comes just one day after the franchise suffered the loss of its matriarch Norma Hunt.
Hunt was the widow of Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, who died in 2006, and the mother of current Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt.
source: people.com
