Imagine you’re a Clemson Tiger, fresh off your National-Championship win over Alabama, pulling up to the White House.
You put in countless hours of work in the weight room, film room and on the practice field, fought through injuries and found a way to navigate through 15 games with an undefeated record for the first time since 1897.
You walk with your teammates through the entrance hall of the world’s most famous home, down the hallway, and into the State Dining Room, where a s**tstorm of reporters are waiting.
You’ve earned a dinner with the president, and it’s probably the only time in your life you’ll have this experience. How exciting!
After entering the dining room you, approach a long, candlelit, mahogany table and grab some fine china. Then you look down and… McDonald's? Wendy's? Burger King? Pizza?
You stopped for McDonald's before you got on the plane to D.C., and now, it’s being served to you by the President of the United States.
What. A. Joke.
A lavish meal was the least of your expectations. Prime rib, not McRib. Lobster, not Filet ‘O Fish.
But there’s a government shutdown. The White House kitchen staff can’t even come to work. So Donald Trump ordered out Monday night, and he chose JUNK FOOD for his esteemed guests.
I understand the president has a place in his heart for a Big Mac. We’re talking about a guy who pushes a button and a server walks into the Oval Office to deliver him a Coca Cola.
But if you’re worth $3.1 billion, you’ve got to serve something better than a colder version of what the players eat on their cheat day. Support some local Washington D.C. restaurants instead of massive corporations that have served billions of customers. You can afford it.
And from a Clemson standpoint: you invest a lot of money into the nutrition of your football team. You have a nutritionist, Paul Harrington, and chef, Donna McCain, solely to serve your team and monitor their eating habits. McCain even offers cooking classes to the players so they don’t eat unhealthy on their own. I’m sure they had salads.
These players train all season to maintain their bodies. After winning the national title, I bet they cheated on their diets more than a little bit. So McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King have likely all been on the menu over the last week.
But when you go to the White House for a meal, you expect unforgettable food in an unforgettable place with an unforgettable personality.
I’m sure none of the players will forget the 300 hamburgers they consumed. People tend to remember the times they get the short end of the stick.
Mark Stine is assistant sports editor at the Alligator. Follow him on Twitter @mstinejr or contact him at mstine@alligator.org.
