When most people visit Washington D.C., they think about all the sights and all the history.
They think about the president, too, though few get to meet him.
In that respect it’s a good time to be an ASU softball player.
Along with the national champion Sun Devil men’s and women’s track and field teams, the ASU softball team braved the frigid D.C. weather to meet President George W. Bush on Nov. 12.
As for seeing the president?
“That was pretty cool. It doesn’t really matter what your political views are,” senior outfielder Kaitlin Cochran said. “It was really awesome.”
And while politics weren’t on the players’ minds, Bush didn’t shy away from an issue true to their hearts.
“One of the things he said to us was he was a big fan of softball and he wanted to get it back in the Olympics,” senior outfielder Jessica Mapes said.
The Sun Devils received a tour of the White House before greeting the president with an ASU softball jersey with “Bush” and the No. 1 on the back.
Players said the president was extremely friendly and personal.
“When he walked into the room it was just the chills,” sophomore outfielder Dani Rae Lougheed said. “He was so nice to us and he was joking around.
“It was kind of informal, which is not what I was expecting. I expected him to come in you know, like very formal, ‘Hello, hello, hello, thank you’ but he was so personal and you knew he felt comfortable.”
While meaningful, the White House visit was only a part of the team’s trip.
Mapes said the team did everything it could in a day and a half.
Sightseeing locations included the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the World War II Memorial, a visit to the National Archives Building and a Smithsonian museum of their choice.
As for the most memorable place?
“You can see the Washington Monument in every picture we took it seems,” joked Cochran.
The experience only re-emphasized the sense of family around ASU softball.
“I got to share it with my friends and my family because they are all my sisters,” Lougheed said. “We care so much about each other so being able to share it was absolutely amazing.”
The team was wanted here at home, too. Monday they paid a visit to Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano at her office in the state Capitol building.
“She’s very likable,” Mapes said. “She’s an important lady and we just got to socialize with her and talk about how she became the governor.”
Napolitano will join the ASU softball team for a home game as a guest bench coach this season.
Coach Clint Myers has yet to decide a date but said he will choose a non-conference game.
Reach the reporter at joshua.spivack@asu.edu.
