Athletes celebrate national championships

Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux was part of a Purple and Gold contingent from Louisiana that visited the nation’s capital to celebrate the national pastime.

Arceneaux joined the LSUS Pilots baseball team and the LSU Tigers baseball team as they visited the White House for their shared national championship celebration.

Arceneaux and his wife, Elizabeth, were invited by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to join the teams on the trip to Washington, D.C.

“The trip was really a lot of fun,” Arceneaux said. “The Speaker’s office called me and said, ‘Would you and Elizabeth like to come?’”

The mayor made his personal arrangements for the trip. The Arceneauxes did wind up staying at the same hotel as both teams. He said having that kind of access to the players gave him a unique perspective on the team.

“They kind of stayed with each other, each team,” he said. “But being at the hotel with them, we got to see their camaraderie among themselves. You forget these guys, they travel with each other, they play with each other, they practice with each other. They spend a huge amount of time with each other. It was clear that they were a team. They weren’t just a group of highly talented athletes. They were a team. They cared about each other.”

In addition to inviting the mayor and his wife to the celebration, Johnson also helped make sure one of the players made it. Pitcher Lex Meinderts is from the Netherlands and had trouble getting back to America on short notice.

“He was having visa problems because of the shortness of time,” Arceneaux said. “He was having trouble getting in for his interview with the American consulate. So, we solved that problem, with the tremendous assistance of the Speaker of the House. So he got to come from the Netherlands.”

Arceneaux said all but one of the Pilots players were able to attend the celebration, which included events on Sunday and Monday. It started Sunday evening at a reception sponsored by the law firm Adams & Reese and the Tiger Athletic Foundation.

“It was for both teams,” Arceneaux said.

“It was held on the top of a building where Adams & Reese have their offices. It has a rooftop patio that overlooks the Capitol. So we had a lovely reception there.”

Monday started with a tour of the U.S. Capitol, which was officially closed because of the federal government shutdown.

“There wasn’t anybody there but us,” the mayor said. “The Speaker’s staffers brought us to the House chambers, so we were actually on the House floor. The governor (Jeff Landry) came in, and his wife. They spoke. Steve Scalise came in. They talked about the history of the chamber and how all that works. We had a little tour of Statuary Hall. Then, the Speaker had made arrangements for the teams to have lunch at The Capitol Hill Club. That was very nice.”

Johnson also took them to the Speaker’s balcony, which overlooks the Washington Monument. Arceneaux said it was a “great place to have your picture made.”

The highlight of the trip was Monday after lunch, when they met President Donald Trump.

“Then we went to the White House,” Arceneaux said. “We had the reception in the East Ballroom, which is the ballroom that is going to have the construction done. It was a packed room. The president came in, did his stuff and left. He had some good, interesting stories. He did a really good job — picked out a handful of players to recognize, shook hands with them.”

After the official reception in the East Ballroom, Trump invited the team to the Oval Office.

“There he gave them — I would call it a challenge coin, but it was more like a challenge medallion,” Arceneaux said. “Everyone of them got one.”

They left the White House, but the party wasn’t over yet.

“We went back to the hotel, and then we went to a nice steakhouse for a closing dinner,” the mayor said. “There, they got their championship rings. I got my picture made wearing the championship ring on my pinkie. Nice and gaudy.”

Arceneaux said he enjoyed visiting with the players and others on the trip.

“I spent a lot of time with Chancellor (Robert) Smith, who is a super, super guy — just totally committed to, in his words, LSU in Shreveport. He doesn’t like to say LSUS,” Arceneaux said.

Even with all of the pomp and ceremony surrounding the baseball teams, one thing struck the mayor on the trip.

“Washington was empty,” he said.

“When we left Washington Tuesday morning, there was no line in security. And our plane was full going in, but it was not going out.”