JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
Presidential hopeful pays a visit to the Barons’ football practice, gives team a pep talk
Just back from Manheim Central High School, where I thought I was going to watch football practice and do some interviews for our upcoming previews.
And then John McCain strolled in.
Yep, that John McCain – the presidential candidate.
The Republican from Arizona paid a visit to Central’s football practice on Tuesday afternoon. He was in York Tuesday morning, and made the trip over to Manheim in his cool bus Tuesday afternoon and dropped by Elden Rettew Stadium to watch the Barons practice.
McCain was accompanied by sidekick Joe Lieberman, an Independant from Connecticut, and Representative Tom Platts, a Republican from Pennsylvania.
McCain, Lieberman and Platts spent about 30 minutes at the stadium. When they arrived, they watched Central’s players run a few drills, and then they shook hands with all the players and assistant coaches.
And then McCain, Lieberman and Central coach Mike Williams stood in front of the Barons’ players at the center of the stadium.
Williams – who found out about McCain’s visit last Wednesday, and had kept it a secret right up until his arrival – introduced McCain, who spoke to the team for several minutes in what turned out to be a glorified pep talk.
McCain talked about the importance of everyone playing together as a team, and how everyone – from the starting quarterback to the last guy on the bench – had to play his role just right for the team to be successful.
And he told the players that teamwork was essential, and that it was important to win as a team, and to lose as a team.
McCain also introduced Lieberman, who also addressed the players.
He told them that they were lucky to be playing for such a prestigious program and for a coach like Williams. Lieberman then compared McCain to a football coach, saying he hoped McCain would be America’s next coach after the election.
After meeting with the players, McCain again shook hands with the players and coaches, before greeting a flock of parents and students, who were seated across the field in the bleachers inside Elden Rettew Stadium.
McCain and Lieberman then headed inside the high school for a quick press conference before getting back on their bus and motoring out of Manheim.
Pretty cool stuff.
I usually don’t pay much attention to politics – heck, I don’t have any clue who I’ll be voting for in November – but it was very cool to stand five feet from McCain, and to listen to him speak, if only for a few minutes.
I will be filing a story for Wednesday, and I’ll be sure to post it here then.
For now, enjoy some of the photos I took on my handy dandy camera phone.
