Let Teddy Win T-Shirts
The Washington Nationals celebrated September 17 — half way to St. Patricks Day — tonight with free green ‘Curly W’ hats, live Irish music from 4 Ever Erin, celtic dancers and more throughout the game. It had all the makings of a festive Wednesday night for the 25,000 fans in attendance, but the Nationals 14 hits were too late and too scattered to overcome an early deficit vs. the Mets.
With Clint and the other members of the Nat Pack wearing green from head to toe, and Nationals mascot Screech sporting a green beard, it seemed as if every Irish cliche’ in the book had been trotted out, but then came the presidents race in the 4th inning.
The presidents appeared wearing green boas, and Tom and George jumped out in front, with Teddy and Abe trailing. Then, just as Abe was putting on his customary burst of speed, a leprechaun appeared in the outfield and tackled the great emancipator. It was great to see Abe — and not Teddy — get his due for a change.
Of course, rather than take advantage of Abe’s misfortune, Teddy turned and chased the leprechaun, in the opposite direction of the finish line. George Washington, sporting long green socks, beat Tom to the tape to win his first race in a month.
I can’t believe I forgot to bring my camera, but flickr member Drew Saunders caught George in the home stretch.
Filed under: Presidents Race | Tagged: Clint Khoury, George Washington, Leprechaun, Nat Pack, New York Mets, St. Patricks Day | Leave a Comment »
Teddy Roosevelt took an early lead last night in the Nationals Park presidents race, but as has happened so many times this year — both to Teddy and the Nationals — he was unable to finish and speedster Abe Lincoln won handily. 
A 100-year tradition was extended last night to Nationals Park, as our Nationals’ new home stadium was host for the first time to the annual Congressional Baseball game.
The rematch of last year’s starting pitchers, Rep. John Shimkus (R, IL) and Rep. Joe Baca (D, CA), went back and forth until the seventh inning, when Rep. Connie Mack IV (R, FL, grandson of hall-of-famer Connie Mack, Jr.) got the game-winning RBI off Baca as the Republicans took their 8th straight by a score of 11-10. The game featured an unofficial running of the presidents race, in which George Washington beat Abe Lincoln to the finish line. 
The Washington Nationals have finalized which Tuesday home games will feature free t-shirts with images of the racing presidents.
Yesterday’s home game against the Philadelphia Phillies marked the continuation of the Washington Nationals’ T-Shirt Tuesdays, which will run all season at Nationals Park.
The Washington Nationals presidents race has been nothing if not puzzling in the month of May. 
As the presidents race began in the 4th inning, “Honest Abe” stepped back and let the other racing presidents pass him by. After spotting the others a healthy lead, Abe took off at breakneck speed, attempting to catch and pass the other presidents. However, his overconfidence got the best of him, and while he passed Teddy and Tom, he did not reach the finish line in time to pass George Washington.
Our beloved racing presidents continue to entrench themselves as fixtures in Washington, DC culture. 
