Opinionated Catholic: LSU Tigers At the White House(Photos , Vids, and Links)

TO BE UPDATED AS NEWS STORIES COME IN
UPDATE X- This thread has become huge. So I hve started Part II. GO see LSU Tigers Meet Louisiana Guard of the Tomb of the Unknown(VIDs and More Pics of D.C. Visit) for more.

Update I- Shreveport Times has a few (21) more photos up here at President Bush honors LSU football team

Update II- The Sports Guy from Channel 2 was on a LSU Board and said the Trip has been awesome so far.

Here is a small vid from Channel 2 of Baton Rouge

Update III- This blogger got to go. How Lucky. She has some nice pics up at LSU at the White House . Be sure to check out her extended gallery here. D.C. Area fans got word where the hotel they are staying at. Some nice pics added from one fan at bottom of post of Hest, Flynn and Perrilloux at the Hotel.

Update IV-The Advocate has great article here at Bush: Hats off to Miles, LSU Tigers

I was struck by this part:

"Running back Jacob Hester called the visit a fitting way to end four years at the school.
“This is the last thing we’re going to do as a team, coming to the White House and meeting the president,” Hester said. “I had a whole speech prepared to tell the president but when he shook my hand, I was like a 2-year-old.”

In a way I guess that it is the same for the fans too. This is it in a real way. This sort of marks the end of the National Championship season in a big way and all the celebration. Now we gotta to sort of "let go" a tad and look to the future.

Update V-The Gannett Louisiana Papers have a very nice article In the Shreveport Times is Bob Tompkins: LSU enjoys memorable day in Washington It has Some Humor in it and I also like how it shows Bush again can get an individual connection to people(in this case players on a big day for them) even though he speaking to over 300 people. Oh Flynn Impersonates Bush- Go read it for more

Update VI- LSU SPorts net has a nice write up here as well as an awesome Photo gallery of the Tigers at the White House and Touring DC. I shall add a few of those at the end of the post in a bit.

UPDATE VII- LSU FANS IN DC are In Nirvana. I saw this on a LSU Board and is typical of what I am hearing. I shall post it in full:

Yesterday in DC was one of the best days of my life:

This is what happened to me and my LSU-loving family of 5 sons:

Well, yesterday in DC was one of the greatest days of our lives! We were driving down 17th street looking for a place to eat and I noticed four Champion buses pulling into the White House and we knew that had to be the team. So luckily, very luckily, we found a parking spot and ran across the street like crazy people, pushing the stroller faster than I have ever pushed it, and ran along side of the buses just waving and cheering as they were stopped going through security. We were all dressed in purple and gold from head to toe, including my wife, who is from Michigan. Well, all of a sudden the door opens to the first bus, and wouldn't you know it, Les Miles comes out and greets us! He signed everything we had and couldn't have been nicer. My wife threw in the she was also a fellow Michigander who loves LSU. He got a kick out of that.

The day could've ended and we would have been satisfied! Well, after we ate, we headed over to the Lincoln Memorial just in case they would go there, but after an hour and half wait, it was time to take the kids home. As we were walking along the path of the Reflecting Pool, THE ENTIRE TEAM WAS WALKING TOWARDS THE MEMORIAL! We met basically the entire team since there were gaps in between each group and got so many autographs! They were all so incredibly nice and polite! We were so star-struck we only got two pictures, but the memories we made yesterday will last a lifetime. Here are the autographs we got in order of their procession: Ali Highsmith, Trindon Holliday, Terrance Tolliver, Brandon Lafell, Orlando Gunn, Matt Flynn, Jacob Hester, T-Bob Hebert, Patrick Fisher(had to get the punter!), Craig Steltz, Luke Sanders, and last but certainly not least, Glen Dorsey. Take me Lord, I'm ready to go!

Update VIII- This guy got to go and has some awesome pictures on his wifes blog Check them out Especially the cool invitation. By the way check out the rest of her site. Her work is good

Update VIIII- Channel 2 has another good vid here at Tigers return home after D.C. trip . I am going to keep updating this thread if I fond more pics and article related to it. SO check back

Pretty Exciting.

Here is the WHITE HOUSE VID. Nice!!! Note Vid from the White House Site that is a tad different and with somewhat better sound quality can be found at start of transcript below

President Bush Welcomes 2007 NCAA Football Champion Louisiana State University Tigers to the White House South Lawn

Video (Windows) /news/releases/2008/04/20080407-11.wm.v.html White House News
2:08 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good to see you all. Welcome. Go Tigers! (Applause.) Sit down. Please sit down. Thanks for coming.

So I met some of these men in 2004 -- they feel pretty comfortable they were going to be back here. Some of them weren't so sure I was going to be back here. (Laughter.) It's good to welcome you back. Proud you're here. Nothing like being called, "National Champs." (Applause.) LSU has the honor of being the first school to win two BCS titles. This year there is no split. (Applause.)
I appreciate Les Miles, and Kathy -- thanks for coming.

Proud to have met you, Coach. It was a great honor for me to have called you after you won that day. And I know you told the team that at least one guy called to congratulate you. (Laughter.) I welcome the LSU administrators, personnel, coaches, trainers, locker room folks, and most of all, the players.

I want to welcome members of Congress -- Jim McCrery. Jim, good to see you, sir. And, Scott and Clark, good to see you boys. Rodney Alexander -- Congressman, good to see you. Charles Boustany -- I'm glad to see you, Charles. Thanks for coming. I appreciate you taking time to be here. Out of the state government is State Treasurer John Kennedy. John, thank you for coming. Appreciate you coming up for that. Glad you brought Preston.
Is Breaux here? No, he -- (laughter) -- he's working. (Laughter.) Which is a major upset -- no. (Laughter.)

Winning requires very strong leadership -- that's what it takes. After eight years of welcoming national champs there's always one common denominator, and that is it requires a strong leader to motivate people toward a common goal. And that's exactly what you have in Coach Les Miles. Coach Miles's three years has helped the team compile a 34-and-6 record. And this is a guy who's not afraid to take risks. He tried two fake field goals, fake punt, went for 4th down -- went for 1st down on 4th down -- 15 times. Made it nearly every time. (Applause.) Of course, he had the players who helped him take that risk.
He also had to deal with some delicate situations away from the field, like inaccurate press stories. (Laughter.) Coach, let me just say, I know the feeling. (Laughter.)

This is Coach Miles's first time celebrating here at the White House, and a lot of folks are going to remember it because it's the first time he's been seen in public without a hat on. (Laughter.)
LSU fans had an amazing season. They -- first of all, in the season, the number one ranking changed hands six times. Of course, LSU was number one on the day it counted; that's why they're here. You had to overcome adversity to get here. You played as a team, and you won some dramatic football games. And when you lost, it was pretty dramatic, too. You beat Florida in a comeback with the largest crowd ever to watch a game at Tiger Stadium. Two weeks later, you rallied to beat Auburn on a touchdown scored with one second left on the clock.
After you lost to Arkansas, a lot of folks counted you out.

But you held a team meeting and decided you had something to play for. In other words, you didn't let adversity affect you. You said, we're going to do something about it. And then you beat Tennessee to win the SEC Championship, and you went from number seven to number two -- and you went straight to the national title game, which didn't start off so good. And yet you had 31 unanswered points, like a true champion team, to win 38 to 24. And you're here at the White House, representing LSU University as the National Champs. And we congratulate you. (Applause.)

Being raised in Texas and growing up in Texas, I've got a lot of friends in Louisiana. And you inspired people across the state. I thought Matt -- quarterback Matt Flynn put it best. He said, "You can't dream it any better than that." And that's what a lot of people were saying around your state.

You earned your place in the record books. You scored the most points in school history. And the seniors will go down as LSU's winningest class. No other senior class has had a better record than those at -- (applause.)

I welcome defensive tackle, Glenn Dorsey. And so did the team when he turned down -- when he decided not to turn pro last year. A lot of fans said, "Thank you, Glenn." (Laughter.) A lot of opponents said, "No, thank you, Glenn." (Laughter.) After all, he was the defensive player of the year for SEC, Outland Trophy winner, Lombardi Trophy, and Nagurski Award. He'll have his time in the NFL, and a lot of teams are sure anxious to have him play for them. Congratulations, and welcome. Glad you're here. (Applause.)

This is a team of great athletes. Two players were drafted by Major League Baseball. One of the stars, Trindon Holliday, holds the school record in the 100 meters. One of your linemen, Herman Johnson -- he holds a different kind of record. (Laughter.) He was the largest baby ever born in the state of Louisiana, at 15 pounds, 14 ounces. (Laughter.) That's why he's known as "The House," which puts him in good stead with his fellow teammates known as, "Putt," or "Surfer Boy," "L-Crazy," and "Cheese." (Laughter.) Whatever nickname you prefer to be called, all of us here are calling you "Champs." And you deserve it. I want to thank you for being champions on the field. (Applause.)

I appreciate you understanding that once you're a champ on the field, means you have a responsibility to be a champ off the field, as well. And there's no better inspiration than Les Miles and his wife, Kathy. They host events that raise money for the Children's Miracle Network. They're active in cancer fundraising and the Special Olympics, the Baton Rouge Children's Advocacy Center. I told the coach that I was going to mention this, and that is, I'm aware, as the Commander-in-Chief of the finest military ever assembled on the face of the Earth, that he went to boost our troops in Iraq and Kuwait as part of a USO tour. I want to thank you, Coach, for doing your job. (Applause.)

I appreciate the example that Glenn Dorsey has set on the field and off the field to -- he works to educate children about the dangers of drugs, and encourages them to work hard. His advice is: "Dream big and make things happen." There's nothing better than a champ to help somebody dream big and to encourage them to make something happen.

And so when you leave here, I hope you leave here knowing that you've got a special responsibility, not only to represent your school on the football field, but to help make America a better place, just like Ciron Black did, when he heard the story of an 8-year-old LSU fan who was suffering from leukemia. And he took time to send an encouraging message, then he wrote the boy's name, Mikey, on his wristband during the national championship game. Sometimes people say, I can't help because I can't solve all the problems. But in this case, he showed that you can help one person. And in helping one person, he helped the nation as a whole. And I want to thank you, Ciron, for your leadership. (Applause.)

There's a lot of great stories about the character of the people behind me, but it's getting chilly, and I'm looking forward to getting my LSU jersey. (Laughter.) And so I want to welcome you all to the White House, to the South Lawn of the White House. I'm so honored and proud to welcome the LSU Tigers here as the National Champs. God bless you. God bless LSU, and God bless America. (Applause.)