You love to see it.
It’s been a whirlwind couple of days for the Team USA men’s hockey team after winning the gold medal over Team Canada at the Winter Olympics on Sunday.
After flying back from Milan, the team landed in Miami, Florida, where they partied at the famous E11EVEN nightclub. The patriotic celebration included team sing-alongs to Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” and Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” and a national anthem that had even the dancers standing with their hands over their hearts…
How can you not love this country?
Well of course the beers were also flowing, and according to the Daily Mail the team racked up a $150,000 bar tab thanks to “vast amounts of E11EVEN Vodka, Armand de Brignac champagne and Dame Más tequila.”
Luckily though, they didn’t have to pick up the tab themselves.
During the party, ESPN star Pat McAfee popped in with a video for the team – and surprised them by paying the tab for the entire night:
“Boys! Thank you for representing the United States of America in such a great way, it was an honor to watch you win. Enjoy the hell aht of all of it. Tonight all of your drinks are on me, E11ven and the rest of the United States of America. Cheers Boys. We appreciate you.”
@bkaminskyLast night, the USA Men’s Hockey Team celebrated their Olympic Gold at E11EVEN Miami, the famous 24/7 ultraclub. Pat McAfee surprised the whole team by paying for the tab all night. Wow!
What a guy. That’s why people love McAfee.
Of course after the party the team then headed to Washington where the celebration continued at the White House (and on Air Force Two on the way there).
The team walked into the Oval Office to meet with the president with their team anthem “Free Bird” blasting throughout the White House colonnade.
And once they got into the Oval Office, Matthew Tkachuk even let President Trump try on his gold medal – joking that he was willing to trade it for a presidential pen when Trump informed him that he wouldn’t be giving the medal back:
The biggest surprise of the day came during the State of the Union last night though, when the president announced that he would be awarding goalie Connor Hellebuyck with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor:
“I just want to tell you that the members of this great hockey squad will be very happy to hear, based on their vote and my vote – and in this case my vote was more important – that I will soon be presenting Connor with our highest civilian honor, which has been given to many athletes over the years. When I say many, not too many. Like, 12. It’s called the highest civilian honor in our country, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
Trump said that he told the team he wouldn’t be awarding the medal if they didn’t all agree:
“I did take a vote … every single one of them rapidly put up their hand.”
Been a wild couple of days…and they absolutely deserve every second of it.
