On Tuesday May 16, the Los Angeles Galaxy football team was honored at the Whitehouse for their 2011 Major League Soccer championship title. President Obama personally congratulated the team during a speech, calling them “the Miami Heat of soccer.” The Head of State also made a few jokes about David Beckham, saying “We also have a young up-and-comer on the team, a guy named David Beckham…I have to say I gave David a hard time – I said half his teammates could be his kids.”
The U.S. President then remarked on Beckham’s age, multiple injuries and his ability to fight past them, joking “In fact, it is a rare man who can be that tough on the field and also have his own line of underwear.”
Obama detailed the 72nd minute, game winning goal and the subsequent “all-night celebration,” the President continued “although my understanding is that David had to get up for carpool duty at 8 a.m., so his day was ending a little early.”
The puns weren’t all at Beckham’s expense, after complementing Robbie Keane as the “all-time leading scorer of the Irish national team,” Obama called him a “cousin of mine.” Following the press conference, Galaxy met with children involved in Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign.
Watch the speech below.
