Let Teddy Win T-Shirts
The Nationals celebrated the first “Ignite Your Natitude Tweetup” at Nationals Park Tuesday night, as the team kicked off its final homestand before the All Star break.
Among the near-sellout crowd were over 700 Twitter users who RSVP’d to the event, filling section 140 and collectively doing their part to bring local cellular networks to their knees.
Participants who registered in advance via Twitter were treated to a variety of surprise gifts and experiences, from posters to t-shirts to opportunities to leave their seats and rub elbows with Stephen Strasburg and yes, Teddy Roosevelt.
The 26th president participated by tweeting before and after the 4th-inning race, and by posing with tweetup participants afterwards.
Unfortunately, Teddy tried to tweet during the race as well.
When the gates opened, TR emerged carrying an oversized Curly W cell phone. He surged ahead to a huge lead, which he held into the home stretch.
But then he tried tweeting.
Fans following @Teddy26Nats saw Teddy’s tweet as he approached the finish line looking at his phone:
This is it, I’m soo close! I’m winnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
And with that, the Hero of San Juan Hill tripped and executed a face plant along the first base line. Abe stole the win.
The team continues to use the racing presidents to promote All Star voting, and Tuesday night enlisted the Rushmore Four to hold signs up after the race imploring fans to use hashtag #BryceIn12 and cast their vote for Bryce Harper in the MLB “Final Vote” contest.
The effort to get out the vote has certainly had an impact on young Nats fans Jackson Fleischauer and Corbin Haviland, who won the opportunity to hold Tuesday night’s presidents race finish line. All they had to do was fill in 10,000 paper All Star ballots.
Yes, ten thousand. Congrats Jackson and Corbin. Well deserved!
Finish line video below, but first, Bob Carpenter’s call (he was a bit confused):
Finish line video courtesy of YouTube member lfahome
Filed under: Presidents Race | Tagged: Bryce Harper, Ignite Your Natitude, Ignite Your Natitude Tweet-up, stephen strasburg, Teddy Roosevelt, Tweetup, Twitter | 1 Comment »
A steady afternoon rain and temperatures in the 40s put a damper on the first-ever springtime NatsFest on Wednesday at Nationals Park, as many of the planned outdoor activities were moved, postponed, or canceled altogether.
but the field remained covered for most of the day, leaving Nationals mascot Screech to pray for the sun to come out, and fans to wait until evening for meet-and-greet opportunities. 
The night that had it all started with an 
As if on queue, the Nationals racing presidents were prepared to match the drama step by step with a few oddities and milestones of their own. 
In the 12th inning, Teddy parked in centerfield section 101, posing for photos with fans. When he was still there at the top of the 13th, we knew trouble was in store.
When Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln burst out of the centerfield starting gate, Teddy was still hanging out with fans in the stands. He jumped up from his seat and raced around the concourse, but didn’t make it to the field in time to compete.
The Washington Nationals have released a coupon code “for Teddy’s fans” for this week’s series vs. the Florida Marlins, including Tuesday night’s much-anticipated return of Stephen Strasburg to the Nationals Park mound.
The Nationals pulled out all the stops when the race began, as the “Un-racing sausages” (the Nationals’ parodies of Milwaukee’s famous racing mascots) jumped out of the gate to start the presidents race. The four presidents followed, tailed by Pittsburgh’s own racing pierogies, and a couple of secret service agents on Segways, creating a very crowded field. 
Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt broke away from the crowded pack early, along with racing sausage Choriz-No. Then Teddy put on a burst of speed, sending the packed house into a frenzy. 
Chester took a running start as the racers entered the home stretch, but instead of tackling Teddy, Chester ran between the two presidents and put a full-on body slam on Choriz-no. 
With the stands overflowing and the auxiliary press box bursting at the seams, the Nats have still found room to invite a handful of additional non-paying guests — Pittsburgh’s Racing Pierogies — who will no-doubt make an appearance during the 4th-inning presidents race for the 3-game homestand.
The Nationals are surely eager to send the message that a new era has arrived. With a record sellout crowd expected, and every major national media outlet on hand, what better opportunity could the Nats have to let Teddy win? It seems a wise move, both to send a signal to the fans, and to avoid risking a chorus of 41,000 boos during their moment in the spotlight.
No. Many of the 33,774 in attendance Friday purchased their tickets in anticipation of Stephen Strasburg’s major league debut, which was ultimately pushed to next week. Many of our readers have expressed their hope to see a Teddy Victory when Stephen Strasburg makes his first start at Nationals Park, and perhaps for them, the question was whether Teddy would double the disappointment, or give the big crowd the “I was there” moment they’d hoped for.
9:30pm UPDATE: 
The Washington Nationals’ racing presidents will take their show on the road Wednesday for Stephen Strasburg’s second start with the AAA Syracuse Chiefs.
