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Being a lifelong Steelers fan, it's always a thrill to see your favorite players up close and there are few opportunities do so like seeing the Super Bowl champs at the White House. I went to cover the meet & greet with President Obama with our photographer, Robert Washington (a fellow member of Steelers nation) today and ended up being lucky beyond belief.

We were told to get to the White House gates by 12:30. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we got there about 12:45, knowing the ceremony wouldn't begin until 1:30 pm.  As we strolled the White House grounds, there was no sign of the dreaded media horde other than the regular network news media, camped out in their regular spots in the backyard. Having covered the 2006 visit by the Steelers, I remember we were escorted into the East Room via the "back porch" of the Casa Blanca.

We spotted some of the players on the porch and we hung out there until we were all ushered into the East Room. Once in the East Room, we were among NFL royalty. The Steelers ownership, coaches, players and various politicians from the Keystone state were hobknobbing and admiring the Super Bowl hardware. There was no other media around. We just decided to chill and just take it all in. If you could have built a room in heaven for Steelers fans. It might have been that moment in the beautifully appointed East Room. We talked with Mewelde Moore, Coach Tomlin and others. James Harrison was a no show as was Heath Miller and Aaron Smith to name a few.

Finally the room buzzed with excitement as the players jockeyed for position on their riser to take photos of the president. It seemed every player on the team had their own camera and the electronic flashes made the room look like the Super Bowl at kickoff. It was at this time I told Robert to shoot video. It was an unforgettable scene. In fact,  it was surreal. These guys were on the wrong side of the cameras weren't they?  When President Obama came into the East Room , the players transformed into fans, grinning ear-to-ear, trying to press flesh with number 44.

The White House photogs took some still photos and the PR folks were surprised to see a video camera in the room. They quickly ushered us out and repeatedly told us that we couldn't use the footage. We were led onto the South Lawn and there was the media horde we had not joined earlier because we were 15 minutes late. So we scrambled for a position on the riser, got the same footage everyone else did of the President and the team working with the USO and Wounded Warriors to fill care packages for troops overseas.  We finagled a few player  interviews. Robert even got Hines Ward to sign his #86 jersey. The funniest line of the afternoon? The White House announcer asked Willie Parker if he was as fast at filling up the packages as he was on the field. Willie sighed out loudly and responded, "Man, I'm just not cut out for this line of work."  He quickly added that he was honored and blessed to be there nonetheless.

After exiting the South Lawn, Robert was strolling three feet off the ground all the way to car > The fact  we didn't get a parking ticket just capped off the trip. We got back to the station and after much deliberation with  New President Bill Lord, Sports VP Tim Brant and Executive Producer Alex Parker, the decision was made to air the verboten footage of President Obama lighting up the faces of the reigning Super Bowl champions. It was an moment in time worth sharing with our viewers and one I'll never forget.