Presidents Race Videos – 2011 Season
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2011 Presidents Race Auditions
Presidents Race on Ice in New York
Teddy falls in opening day relay race
Presidents race on tandem bicycles
George and Tom clothesline Teddy
Teddy wears a cosmonaut helmet
Nationals introduce 5th president – JFK
Phillies fan hits Thomas Jefferson
Teddy and 9 visiting mascots tackle sausages
Teddy grills sausages on the field
“That Cat” returns to Nationals Park
Teddy dresses for the royal wedding
Teddy’s slow-motion dive for the finish line
Presidents debut new patriotic uniforms
Presidents wear hockey masks on Friday the 13th
Abe pays tribute to Randy “Macho Man” Savage
On a much-hyped Memorial Day, Teddy falls short
Jefferson cheats, but is not disqualified!
Wrestler John Cena gets Teddy to down the Orioles’ Bird
Teddy sends That Cat to tackle George Washington
Samurai warrior tackles Jefferson and Washington
Pittsburgh’s Pierogies send Tom and Teddy Flying
Abe topples 3 Pittsburgh Pierogies with one blow
Tom carries the flag wire-to-wire on Independence Day
Teddy tries to lock the presidents out of the field
Presidents endorse Michael Morse for the All Star team
In walk-race, Teddy runs into the right field wall
Presidents honor final launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis
Presidents pay tribute to the NFL with a football scrimmage
After July 2011, I stopped adding videos to this section, because they are all linked from the Presidents Race Standings page for each season.
Presidents Race Videos – 2011 Season
Annual Presidents Race Auditions, February, 2011
The Nationals continued their 5-year tradition of assembling Mount Rushmore hopefuls for tests of speed, stamina, and silliness on Presidents Day weekend.
Presidents Race on Ice in New York
For the third year, the racing presidents visited Long Island, New York on Presidents Day weekend to race on skates between periods of a New York Islanders hockey game. The presidents added a twist by racing blindfolded, and at one point Teddy jumped from the penalty box into George Washington. YouTube member Tumadre520 caught the presidents dancing to Justin Bieber between periods.
Teddy falls in opening day relay
The presidents opened the 2011 season with a cold, wet relay race featuring hurdles and push carts. While Thomas Jefferson was pushing George Washington across the finish line, Teddy Roosevelt fell off his cart, killing his chances for victory. Video by YouTube member lfahome.
Presidents race on Tandem bicycles
On April 2, the Nationals racing presidents came out on tandem bicycles for the second team race of the season. Teammates Teddy and Abe lost after failing to make a tight turn, and afterwards, Teddy vowed to get revenge on his so-called “partner.” Video by YouTube member lfahome.
Teddy is clotheslined by George and Tom
On April 3, a day after challenging Abe to a mano-a-mano race, Teddy gets his wish, and slams Abe into the outfield wall, but George and Tom clothesline Teddy Roosevelt before he reaches the finish line. Video by YouTube member lfahome.
Teddy wears cosmonaut helmet, can’t see
On April 12, the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first human space flight by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Teddy Roosevelt, never one to miss a commemorative event, entered the race wearing a makeshift tinfoil cosmonaut helmet Unfortunately, he got carried away and pretended to run in slow motion zero gravity. Video by YouTube member lfahome.
Nationals introduce a 5th president – JFK
On April 13, the racing presidents navigated a strange on-field obstacle course that included a Ringling Brothers clown and a first-ever appearance by a fifth president — a super-sized John F. Kennedy. Video by YouTube member lfahome.
Phillies fan reaches from stands, hits Thomas Jefferson
On April 14, busloads of Philadelphia fans invaded Nationals Park to watch a classic pitchers duel between Cliff Lee and Jordan Zimmerman. The notorious boo-birds have earned a reputation for importing disruptive behavior to Nationals Park, and didn’t disappoint, as the local MASN broadcast caught a spectator reaching into the field of play and hitting Thomas Jefferson during the presidents race.
Teddy and nine visiting mascots pummel Milwaukee sausages
On April 17, nine visiting mascots from other local teams were on hand to celebrate Screech’s birthday during the first game of a rare doubleheader vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. The presidents race featured fake versions of Milwaukee’s racing sausages, who were pummeled by the mascots. Teddy could have cruised to victory, but instead drew cheers when he body slammed the polish sausage.
Teddy grills sausages on the field, then clotheslines one
In the second game of a doubleheader on April 17 vs. Milwaukee, the a fake Italian Sausage ran in the presidents race vs. George, Tom, and Abe. Teddy awaited in foul territory, grilling sausages on a kettle grill. As the sausage ran by in the lead, Teddy reached out an arm and clotheslined him, letting Abe run by for the victory.
“That Cat” returns to Nationals Park, tackles Teddy
On April 26, the Nationals kicked off a homestand with the Mets, and Teddy was welcomed home by his old nemesis “That Cat.” George and Tom held back the cat until Teddy ran by, when they let him loose to tackle Roosevelt. Abe ran past and celebrated with a Connect Four board.
Teddy dresses for the royal wedding
On the day of the royal wedding between Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton, Teddy Roosevelt donned one of her favorite hats and waved stiff-armed to the crowd throughout the entire presidents race.
Teddy’s slow motion dive for the finish line
In one of the closest presidents races in Nationals Park history, all four presidents ran neck and neck for nearly the entire length of the race on April 30 at Nationals Park. As they approached the finish line, Tom and Teddy dove for the tape, and YouTube member lfahome caught the slow-mo video.
Presidents debut new patriotic uniforms
On May 2, the Nationals hosted Military Appreciation Night, and debuted the team’s new patriotic uniform with a red, white, and blue “Curly W,” used for holidays and special occasions. The racing presidents debuted their new uniforms as well, and ran wire-to-wire in the order of their presidencies.
Presidents wear hockey masks on Friday the 13th
The racing presidents tried to scare up a victory for the home team on Friday the 13th of May by wearing oversized hockey masked in homage to Jason Voorhees of the “Friday the 13th” movies.
Abe pays tribute to Randy “Macho Man” Savage
After the unexpected death of Randy “Macho Man” Savage, Abe Lincoln paid tribute to the professional wrestler by racing in Savage’s signature garb, including a colorful cowboy hat and wild sunglasses, while carrying a trophy belt.
On a much-hyped Memorial Day, Teddy falls short
Expectations were through the roof for a Teddy victory on Memorial Day 2011, with rumors swirling in the press that the Nats would let Teddy get victory #1. When the big day came, Teddy failed to live up to the hype, and even Abe Lincoln joined the call to let Teddy win.
Jefferson cheats, but is not disqualified!
On June 14, Nationals’ mascot and presidents race judge Screech showed his anti-Teddy bias when he awarded Thomas Jefferson the presidents race victory after The Sage of Monticello failed to even participate in the race. Tom hid in ambush, then knocked out Abe Lincoln before waltzing across the finish line.
Wrestler John Cena incites Teddy to tackle the O’s Bird
With the Baltimore Orioles in town on June 17, WWE professional wrestler John Cena appeared in a series of training videos with Teddy, pumping him and and teaching him moves in preparation for the night’s race. Visiting mascot The Bird appeared and led the presidents in the 4th-inning race, but Teddy caught up and made a move on the O’s mascot, knocking him the ground.
Teddy enlists That Cat to tackle George Washington
With George coming off of a 4-game winning streak Teddy Roosevelt enlisted That Cat to help take down Washington on June 21 vs. the Seattle Mariners. After a clean open-field tackle by the panther, Abe Lincoln made a nifty leap over the melee to jump into the lead, skipping with Tom over the finish line.
Samurai warrior attacks Jefferson and Washington
In the middle of the June 22 presidents race, a Samurai warrior appeared from the bullpen door and attacked both Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Abe and Teddy escaped his grasp, with Lincoln taking the tape.
Pittsburgh’s Pierogies send Tom and Teddy flying
On July 1, the Nationals returned to DC for Davey Johnson’s first home game as Nats manager vs the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates continued their tradition of bringing their racing Pierogies, who sent Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt flying when they ran into them mid-race. George was the sole president to escape the pierogies, and won uncontested.
Abe topples 3 Pittsburgh Pierogies with one blow
In the second game of a July 2 doubleheader, Abe Lincoln had the lead, but stopped, turned, and ran back at his oncoming competitors, taking down 3 of Pittsburgh’s Pierogies with one blow The remaining Pierogie, Jalapeño Hannah, proceeded to beat Abe with her purse.
Tom carries the flag wire-to-wire on Independence Day
Teddy Roosevelt had no chance at winning the 400th official running of the presidents race. After appearing at the White house in the morning, the Nationals continued a tradition of letting Thomas Jefferson win on Independence Day Our 3rd president carried an American flag wire-to-wire.
Teddy tries to lock the presidents out of the field
Teddy came up with a novel strategy on July 5, entering the field and then shutting the door behind him on the other presidents. Unfortunately, he was too self-satisfied, celebrated prematurely, and lost at the finish.
Presidents endorse Michael Morse for the All Star team
After Michael Morse was selected as a major league all star Final Vote candidate, the Nationals racing presidents offered their endorsement, urging fans to vote for the Nats’ slugger after the July 6 race.
In walk-race, Teddy runs into the right field wall
In one of the more bizarre runnings of the presidents race, on July 7 the presidents started off speed walking, but the slow-paced race got interesting when Teddy took off and ran onto the grass, then turned and crashed into the wall Nationals Park P.A. announcer Jerome Hruska declared “I’m just as confused as you, folks.”
Presidents honor final launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis
On July 8th, the Nationals paid tribute to the day’s final launch of the Space Shuttle program, wearing makeshift masks made of tinfoil, presumably to represent astronaut helmets.
Presidents pay tribute to the NFL with a football scrimmage
The Nationals returned from a long road trip July 26, a day after the NFL ended a 4 month lockout. The racing presidents paid tribute to the NFL by running a football scrimmage instead of a normal race. Aided by a block from Abe Lincoln, Teddy had a clear shot at the end zone, but celebrated prematurely, and George Washington knocked the ball from his grasp.
Why no videos after mid-season 2011?
The videos are all here on the website, but since 2010, I have been including videos as part of the daily blog post, which ultimately made these video pages redundant. If you still find these pages useful, please let me know, but unless I hear otherwise from readers, I will no longer maintain a separate videos section of the website.
LET TEDDY WIN 