Snow, schmow. President Barack Obama couldn't pass up the chance to see a college basketball game between two top 10 teams.
So he joined a sellout crowd to watch seventh-ranked Georgetown take on No. 8 Duke at the Verizon Center Saturday. And he wasn't just sitting in the stands watching the game either.
The president, attending the game as a fan, provided some hoops commentary early in the second half of Saturday's matchup of two top 10 teams at the Verizon Center near the White House:
"Listen, obviously two great teams. I have been impressed at least in the first half by the guards for Georgetown - big, strong guys. They have been able to keep [Jon] Scheyer out of, you know, out from having to shoot a lot of threes contested. They have been a little sloppy in the second half and Duke's picked up, so it will be interesting to see how things turn out."
Analyst Clark Kellogg asked if Obama -- when he wasn't busy running the country, of course -- would be interested in a different career someday. The President, not missing a beat, said Kellogg might have to watch out in three or seven years.
The president shook hands with several fans as he entered the arena. Vice President Joe Biden, White House senior adviser David Axelrod and White House spokesman Robert Gibbs also joined him at the game.
Through the early part of the game, the president -- a Columbia University graduate -- revealed no preference for either team. Obama's personal assistant, Reggie Love, played basketball at Duke and was also attending the game.
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Security for the game was intensified, with fans having to pass through metal detectors, cars being searched as they entered the building's garage, and a large number of security agents in the arena.
The president, who often plays in pickup games and watches his daughters' contests, also attended a college game on Nov. 28 not
far from the White House. That matchup was between Oregon State and George Washington. Obama's brother-in-law, Craig Robinson, is the Oregon State coach.
Duke and Georgetown used their game to launch an initiative to raise money for children in refugee camps in the Darfur region
of Sudan. The Hoyas beat the Blue Devils 89-77 Saturday.
