Question: "What quelled Verban initial cynicism of the group?"  Context: "In 1975, a group of Chicago Cubs fans based in Washington, D.C. formed the Emil Verban Society. The society is a select club of high profile Cub fans, currently headed by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin which is named for Emil Verban, who in three seasons with the Cubs in the 1940s batted .280 with 39 runs batted in and one home run. Verban was picked as the epitome of a Cub player, explains columnist George Will, because "He exemplified mediocrity under pressure, he was competent but obscure and typifying of the work ethics." Verban initially believed he was being ridiculed, but his ill feeling disappeared several years later when he was flown to Washington to meet President Ronald Reagan, also a society member, at the White House. Hillary Clinton, Jim Belushi, Joe Mantegna, Rahm Emanuel, Dick Cheney and many others have been included among its membership."  Answer:
A:
was flown to Washington to meet President Ronald Reagan