US President Barack Obama welcomed NBA champions San Antonio to the White House
on Monday, and said he'd be glad to offer advice as they pursue a title repeat.
"If you guys need any tips on winning back-to-back, you know where to find me,"
quipped the second-term president, no doubt aware that the Spurs' five NBA titles
don't include any in successive years.
As a passionate fan of the Chicago Bulls, who won all six of their NBA titles
to date in the 1990s, Obama admitted it was bittersweet to yet again
congratulate another team.
"It's never easy celebrating a non-Bulls team in the White House," he said.
"That's all I've been able to do -- so far."
Despite the demands of his Bulls fandom, however, the President admitted
the Spurs were "hard to dislike."
"First of all, they're old," he said of the squad led by 38-year-old Tim Duncan.
"For an old guy, it makes me feel good to see -- where's Tim? Tim's got some
gray. There's a few others with a little sprinkles around here. There's a
reason why the uniform is black and silver."
As a father of two daughters, one of whom plays basketball, Obama praised the
Spurs as the first NBA team to hire a woman assistant coach, and welcomed the
wealth of international talent the team has brought to the league.
"It's the UN of basketball teams," he said of a squad that features French
players Tony Parker and Boris Diaw along with Argentina's Manu Ginobili.
Italy, Brazil, Australia and Canada are also represented on their roster.
"They find folks who didn't have a chance someplace else and suddenly they
figure out a way to make them shine as part of a team. In that sense, they're
a great metaphor for what America should be all about," said Obama.