Iowa football: Julian Vandervelde awaits his call from Obama
Julian Vandervelde’s still waiting for his phone to ring.
He knows President Barack Obama’s busy these days trying to plug the oil leak in the gulf, but once he finishes that?
“Yeah, I’m sure I’m next on his list,” the veteran among Iowa’s offensive line said Tuesday.
He’s waiting for Obama to call not as a belated congratulations for being part of the team that defeated Georgia Tech in the most recent Orange Bowl in Miami.
He’s still waiting for the commander in chief to say thanks for singing the national anthem during a campaign swing to Iowa City last March.
“He hasn’t called me or anything,” said Vandervelde, one of eight returning Hawkeye starters the media interviewed Monday. “No postcard. No nothing. I understand he’s been a little busy, though.”
With quarterback Ricky Stanzi in one corner talking about how he must improve on his 56.3 completion percentage and cut down on 15 interceptions. . .
And with pre-season all-American defensive end Adrian Clayborn in another saying how he doesn’t read college football prediction magazines — even the one with teammate running back Adam Robinson on the cover. . .
Vandervelde held court in another part of the room, talking about everything from how he must successfully mentor young linemen if Iowa is to live up to its top-10 hype to singing for the president.
“To have that experience on my record is something I’ll cherish the rest of my life,” the senior-to-be from Davenport said.
Word spread about Vandervelde’s passion for singing, mostly karaoke and especially Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Pride and Joy” (“definitely my best song,” he said) and “Mustang Sally.”
Word spread all the way to the White House, so to speak, when someone from the university administration asked Vandervelde to sing for the president.
“To have that opportunity to get up there and do something that I love was really great,” Vandervelde said as Stanzi and Clayborn continued to talk about national predictions that have Iowa picked to finish either second or third in the Big Ten Conference.
“I was able to paint a really great picture of the Iowa football player — that we’re very multi-talented, multi-faceted people who don’t just hit people.
“We can sing, and some of us can dance, but not me. I have two left feet and one of them’s broken.
“Just kidding. My body feels great.”
His vocal cords are all right, too.
“How do you top singing for the President?” he said, repeating the question asked by a reporter. “I’ll get back to you on that one.”
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
