Lightning Victor Hedman failed after US President Joe Biden called Gary Batman “Gary Batman” during Tampa’s visit to the White House. (Photo via Twitter / @ greg_price11)
During his weekend Monday, Tampa Bay Lightning was honored at the White House by US President Joe Biden, a custom that is extended annually to champions in various major North American professional sports leagues. In many ways, this was an indescribable event for the president, except for a cheerful omission.
Biden accidentally called Commissioner Gary Batman “Gary Batman” and continued without even thinking of correcting himself.
We are all Victor Hedman here, laughing at Biden’s account – he is clearly not an avid sports fan like previous US presidents. Despite Biden’s mistake, everyone seemed to be having fun.
“Almost everyone was on board and everyone who could succeed – former players and other things – everyone tried to succeed here,” said defender Ryan McDonagh. “It’s just a great tradition we have: you become part of a championship team, you have to go to the White House and meet the president.”
McDonagh, who has played for the United States in several international competitions, speaks on behalf of Lightning. Due to the COVID-19 Lightning pandemic, they were unable to attend the White House ceremonies as quickly as they had hoped, a point that was not lost to Captain Stephen Stamkos.
“This has been going on for a long time,” Stamkos said. “We weren’t sure if we would get this opportunity, but it was definitely worth the wait.
For Lightning, Monday’s visit was a chance to re-evaluate their candidacy for a third straight victory in the Stanley Cup, putting consecutive victories in the rearview mirror.
“The good thing about our group is that the famine is still there,” McDonagh said. “We don’t need any additional motivation, but it certainly intensifies the excitement, entering the last week of the regular season and before the playoffs.
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