President-elect Barack Obama has been invited to attend the NHL Winter Classic hockey game on New Year's Day at Wrigley Field, Elliott Harris reports in the Sun-Times.
Though Obama is an avid basketball player and devoted White Sox fan, he has shown little public interest in hockey. Nevertheless, Blackhawks president John McDonough, whose team will face the Detroit Red Wings in front of tens of thousands of frigid fans, said Obama has been invited to drop the ceremonial first puck.
''We're proud of him. We're proud to call him a Chicagoan. We've not received a response yet, but we have sent an Obama '09 Blackhawks jersey to him, which we know he has received. We're familiar with some of his staff people. An official invitation was sent. It was about two weeks ago.''
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"We think dropping the puck would be a great exercise. We would be privileged if he would do it. He does have an official invitation from the NHL and the Blackhawks.''
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''I think it would be great if he was just a hockey fan. Seeing that this is an international event and it is showcasing the city and it is showcasing the Blackhawks, it would just illustrate the tremendous pride the city has in President-elect Obama.''