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Come Fan with UsSunday, June 21, 2026

President Obama did the wave with Cuba’s president at the Rays-Cuba exhibition game

Cuba and America are normalizing relationships via the wave.

Many things separate Cubans and Americans, but baseball and the dumb things we do at baseball games unite us. Here are President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro doing the wave at Tuesday’s exhibition game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team:

As the game started, Obama seemed to be rooting for the Rays while Castro obviously cheered on the Cuban national team. Here's Obama cheering Tampa Bay's first run:

The Cuban people were thrilled to see Obama, the first American president to visit Cuba while in office since 1928. Upon entering Havana’s Estadio Latinoamericano, he received a standing ovation.

As the son of Cuban immigrant, I have to admit I got a little emotional watching this -- I never thought I would see the sitting President of the United States get a standing ovation in Havana.

Obama left the game in the bottom of the third inning.

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