A Basketball President

Barack Obama's inauguration is just 9 days away!! I can hardly wait! A couple months back, I wrote an article about him in my school's newspaper. For those who are interested, here it is:

When Barack Obama won the presidency of the United States, I could almost hear the NBA headquarters break out their champagne. Of course, it had been a great moment in American history, one that will be never forgotten. But the fact that Obama is a huge basketball fan provided even more reason for the NBA folks to celebrate.

Obama’s passion for basketball started out young. He was a point guard on his high school’s basketball team, and in 1979, Punahou High School captured Hawaii’s state championship. In fact, I found a video of the young Obama playing for his high school team on Youtube (He did miss a free throw in the video). Obama’s love for the sport never faded as he went on to become a community organizer in Chicago, and later a graduate of Harvard Law School.

The President-Elect might as well thank basketball for helping to get Michelle Obama’s hand in marriage. Michelle, last name Robinson at the time, had a brother (Craig) who also played the sport. One day, Michelle asked Craig to take on Barack in streetball to see what kind of a person he is on the court. That sure worked out well. Craig later described Obama as “confident but not cocky” and said “he’ll take the shot if he’s open…”

Over the course of his long campaign, President-Elect Obama received many endorsements from prominent basketball figures. Historical greats like Kareem Abdul Jabaar, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan highlight the list. Current stars like Chauncey Billups, LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Greg Oden also publicly supported Obama’s run. Even coach Phil Jackson was an Obama fan. Outside of the NBA, famous athletes like Michael Phelps, Shawn Johnson, and Jimmy Rollins all embraced Obama’s youthful energy.

Just this election day, the President-Elect played basketball with Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA). And when he moves in to the White House come January, don’t be surprised if President Obama orders an indoor basketball court to be built in the mansion. Besides, he has no use for that bowling alley Nixon put in the basement. Not only will Obama be America’s first African-American president, it’s safe to say that he will be the first basketball president too.

-D