Huskers tour D.C. on f
once-in-lifetime trip
By Jeff Zeleny
Efc- -
WASHINGTON — In the 71 days since
Nebraska won its national-championship foot
ball game, the awards, ceremonies and ban
quets have become commonplace.
Coach Tom Osborne responds to nearly
every cheering audience the same way: “I’m
the same guy who lost the last seven bowl
games.”
The team captains also have their response
mastered: “We couldn’t have done it without
Nebraska fans.”
Monday, the Nebraska Comhuskers at
tended another ceremony. The smiles were die
same. The congratulations were the same. The
autographed footballs were the same.
The Husker fan, however, was different.
President Bill Clinton congratulated the
Nebraska football team on its national champi
onship during a White House ceremony. The
president spent about 30 minutes with the
Huskers.
Team co-captain Terry Connealy of Hyannis
said Clinton was friendly and easy to talk with.
“He seemed like a very personable guy,”
said Connealy, who escorted Clinton to the
ceremony on the White House South Lawn.
“He spent quite a bit of time with us.”
Monday was the first trip to Washington for
fellow co-captain Rob Zatechka. The senior
All-American snapped photographs of monu
ments around the Mall in Washington.
Though Nebraska’s season is over, players
are still thinking football, Zatechka said as he
walked into the Russell Senate Office Build
ing on Capitol Hill.
“A lot of guys on the team were leery of
corrifftg out here because of NFL scouts and
mid-terms,” he said. “You get out here and you
forget about that.
“It was a neat experience.”
Most players and coaches preferred not to
say if they were fans of Clinton. But, they said,
the office of the president earns their respect.
“He has a difficult job on his shoulders,”
Coach Tom Osborne said.
Monday’s trip came with more perks than
meeting the president.
After leaving the White House, players
toted cameras and carried their suit jackets as
they embarked on a whirlwind tour of Wash
ington, D.C.
The first stop was lunch at Occidental Grill.
This restaurant, about two blocks from die
White House, has photographs on the walls of
dignitaries and celebrities who have been served
at the restaurant since 1906.
A team photograph and a portrait of Osborne
“He seemed like a very
personable guy. He spent qu ite
a bit of time with us. ”
■
TERRY CONNEALY
Nil team co-captain
will be considered as new additions to the
walls, which include U.S. presidents, foreign -
ambassadors and movie stars, said Irene
D’Auria, director of catering for the restau
rant.
The Husker party that ate salad, spaghetti
and cold cuts is one of the biggest ever served
by the restaurant, she said.
“This room is the heaviest it has ever been,”
D’Auria said.
Buses labeled “National Champions”
whisked the team around the District of Co
lumbia. A motorcade of nine police officers
accompanied the team as it toured the Wash
ington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Viet
nam Wall and Smithsonian Institute.
Players grabbed their cameras for a brief *
stop at the reflecting pool on the Mall and for 'i
a quick jog up the stairs of the Lincoln Memo
rial.
Players surrounded Osborne as he kneeled §
on the ground, trying to fit the entire image of
Abraham Lincoln in his camera.
A few coaches and administrators slowly *
walked along the Vietnam Wall. Some stopped
to take photographs, others searched for a g
name. 1
Osborne, who played for the Washington
Redskins in 1960 and 1961, said he had never %
seen the Vietnam Wall. He and his wife,
Nancy, took photographs as they walked
through the park.
Most players, coaches and their wives stared
out the bus windows as the 75-minute tour
concluded with a drive down Independence g
Avenue and the U.S. Department of Agricul
ture and the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
An hourlong tour of Capitol Hill wrapped
up the Huskers’ day in Washington.
So after nine hours, another ceremony was L
finished. There are sure to be others with the
same smiles, congratulations and autographs,
but an Arkansas Razorback made Monday’s g
ceremony memorable.
“I thought it was great. It’s a once-in-a
lifetime opportunity,” Connealy said. “Meet
ing the president was definitely a highlight.”
Photos by Jeff Hatler/DN
Above: The Husker football team and dignitaries await President Clinton’s
arrival before a ceremony Monday on the White House South Lawn. Right: L
Two Nebraska football players stop at the Mall during their whirlwind tour of
Washington.