The golden boys of winter have arrived in the nation’s capital.
The US men’s Olympic hockey team dropped in at the White House to meet with President Trump Tuesday before attending his State of the Union address to Congress.
Wearing white pants, blue “USA” sweaters and their gold medals, 20 members of the 25-man roster posed for a group photo on the South Lawn.
The gold medal-winning US men’s Olympic hockey team has landed at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, DC. Instagram / @dylanlarkin71
The team arrived to DC ahead of their trip to President Trump’s State of the Union address. Instagram / @chrischelios7The sound system in the Rose Garden blasted “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd — USA Hockey’s goal song — and the late Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red White and Blue,” which has become the team’s unofficial anthem.
Shortly before 2 p.m., the heroes of Milan touched down in a blue-and-white Air Force jet from Miami at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington D.C.
After touching down, the players walked over to greet well-wishers — including several service members — waiting behind a fence along the tarmac.
Videos from the team’s individual Instagram accounts show them taking the phrase “traveling party” literally during the flight, with several beers consumed and goalie Connor Hellebuyck holding a “Secretary of Defense” seal along with his gold medal.
The Olympic champions arrived back in South Florida from northern Italy Monday afternoon and celebrated their achievement with a steak dinner, followed by partying the night away at famed Miami nightclub E11even.
Trump’s Air Force One arrived in Washington, DC. MiamiPIXX/vaem / BACKGRID
Team USA’s men’s hockey team took home the gold in overtime after beating Canada 2-1, a feat that came exactly 46 years after the US “Miracle on Ice,” and marks the third time the US has won an Olympic hockey gold. AFP via Getty ImagesTrump invited the team to his annual address to Congress during a congratulatory phone call following the Americans’ dramatic 2-1 overtime win over Canada, which gave the US its first gold medal in men’s hockey since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice.”
The players cheerfully accepted, which caused some logistical headaches for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who technically hosts the annual spectacle.
With non-members of Congress barred from sitting on the floor of the House, Johnson initially told reporters he wasn’t sure where the players would sit in the crowded spectator gallery.By Tuesday, however, the speaker had come around, telling reporters on Capitol Hill: “
We’re going to work out the logistics and somehow, someway, we’ll squeeze in the hockey players tonight.”
