White House statement hails ‘World Cup Series Champion’ Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox were honored at the White House on Thursday by President Donald Trump, but a few gaffes by those working behind the scenes proved to be comical distractions to an otherwise distinguished affair.
In an official White House statement, the World Series champion Red Sox were hailed as the “World Cup Series Champion,” which causes one to envision the team as some kind of baseball-playing soccer team mashup or something.
Politico’s Jake Sherman was among the myriad media members to take notice of the amusing misidentification of the major league ball club.
The White House has sent out a transcript of the presidents appearance with the “World Cup series champion” Red Sox. pic.twitter.com/G3BVlHvzmA
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 9, 2019
At least the Red Sox’s official Twitter account got things right.
Thank you to the @WhiteHouse for hosting us today and honoring the 2018 World Series Champions! pic.twitter.com/ejH8tjDwbK
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) May 9, 2019
The “2018 World Cup Series Champions” mistake was not even the first “derp” of the day for the White House. Earlier Thursday, an “Upcoming Events” statement issued by the White House referred to the Red Sox as the “Red Socks,” as noted by the Boston Globe’s Steve Annear, among countless others.
The @WhiteHouse spelled @RedSox as "Red Socks" on its website and @YouTube pages ahead of today's event: "President Trump Welcomes the 2018 World Series Champions The Boston Red Socks to the White House" (it's now fixed). https://t.co/lZAttYHWMS pic.twitter.com/0cwmlanq0D
— Steve Annear (@steveannear) May 9, 2019
Adding to the theater of the absurd was the following exchange that occurred during the ceremony.
But, well, uh … what? https://t.co/CEU8kfWu0i
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 9, 2019
In other words, things got all sorts of awkward before, during and after the White House ceremony. Much has been made of how the Red Sox’s visit to D.C. proved to be a polarizing issue that divided the clubhouse in many respects, as manager Alex Cora led a sizable contingent from the organization who declined to attend the ceremony.
Perhaps the Red Sox can resolve those issues by collectively coming together to have a nice chuckle over being called the “Red Socks” and hailed as the “2018 World Cup Series Champion.” It’s something.
