The President of the United States, Donald Trump, is set to take in No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama’s Saturday afternoon matchup and the coaches of both of those programs think it’s an honor to have the Commander in Chief attend the game.
“It’s an honor, I think, that the President of the United States would be interested enough to come to the game and I’m sure we’ll do everything we can to welcome him,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said Wednesday.
While both Saban and LSU coach Ed Orgeron are no strangers to White House visits neither has had a sitting president attend one of their games.
“This will be my first time,” Oregon said. “I’ve been to the White House four times but I’ve never had a president come to the game. This is going to be interesting.”
Orgeron visited the White House twice with USC and twice with the Miami Hurricanes. He added that he hoped the president would cheer for both teams during the game between undefeated programs which kicks off at 2:30 p.m.
“I think the president needs to be neutral,” he said. “If he wants to cheer for LSU, I’ll welcome his cheers. But, obviously, I don’t think the president should be cheering for either team. I think he should be right down the middle.”
Both coaches, however, are focused on what they each called one of their team's toughest challenges this season in each other. LSU and Alabama were ranked No. 2 and 3 in the initial College Football Playoff poll.
Some of LSU's players specifically said they wouldn’t be focused on who is in the crowd at the game but Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow said the president being in attendance was a cool thought.
"Regardless of your polictical views that's pretty cool, having the president at the game," Burrow said. "Whether you're a Democrat or Republican, having the president at the game is pretty cool."
