The origin of the races is sketchy. Laurel Prieb, a former Brewers vice president who is now Major League Baseball’s vice president for Western operations, said the races existed when he arrived in 1991, but only as a cartoon shown on the scoreboard at County Stadium. Three animated wieners — a bratwurst and Polish and Italian sausages — scampered past Milwaukee landmarks and finished at the stadium.Got that? It's a Wisconsin idea:
“At some point, somebody — and I don’t know who came up with the idea — said, ‘Why don’t we rent some costumes and do it live as a kind of surprise?’ ” Prieb said. “It was meant to be a one-and-done thing.”
The live debut is believed to have occurred on May 29, 1994, the day the Brewers retired Robin Yount’s No. 19, although the team’s chief operating officer, Rick Schlesinger, said he could not confirm the date.
Teams in other cities have co-opted the basic racing idea, using United States presidents, scoreboard subway cars and pierogi, but only Milwaukee has sausages....But it's okay. You can show the love for Wisconsin by copying our fabulous styles. We began with 3, added a 4th (hot dog), and in 2007, they added a 5th, a chorizo named Cinco. So you can kind of see why the Washington Nationals wanted a 5th president, and yet, it was hard to go beyond the classic 4 who were predetermined by Mt. Rushmore. (Whatever political wrangling went into that decision is long past.) Obviously, they had to avoid all the recent presidents to avoid political disputes that live in the minds of the fans. It can't be Reagan or Clinton. And it can't be anyone boring or negative. And it has to be someone who can be depicted in a cartoonish costume. There was only one man for the job:
“It’s unique to Wisconsin.... It wouldn’t work anyplace else.”
Isn't it obvious?
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41 comments:
They should pick William Henry Harrison, that way we can make jokes like: "That race was about as long as his term in office."
Both sides might be okay with Reagan if he always gets shot and staggers to the finish line.
Ford, who will always fall down during every race, but still manage to win one once in a while.
The Nats just followed the well-worn Government Motto: "If it ain't broke, fix it until it is."
As for Taft, he would have devoured all five Brewer sausages in the time it takes for one race.
FDR for the differently abled
Avoiding controversy... preventing a borking?
Taft is hefty. Will this be a handicap race with a weight allowance?
When we were studying presidents, the kids had to learn the name of each president, his ordinal number (Martin Van Buren was eighth, for example) and one fact about said president.
Poor Taft, his fact always seems to be: "He was fat."
You could increase the drama of the race, if you gave Taft a head start because of his weight, then have Ford close in, trip and fall, and take out Taft.
"FDR for the differently abled."
Give him a Segway!
Just surrender in advance and pick President Hillary Clinton.
Obviously this is a setup for a future Brewers-Nationals rivalry. As the sausages are racing, Taft steps out of the Nationals' dugout and attempts to catch and eat one of the sausages.
I'd pay to watch that.
Poor Taft, his fact always seems to be: "He was fat."
That's President Chris Christie's too! He should pack it in now...
The 43rd President of the United States, Albert Gore.
Woodrow Wilson (with Mrs. Wilson running for him)
They can't pick Obama, because he'd win every time.
References to Mount Rushmore always trigger my reflex to mention the name of the man who carved it:
Gutzon Borglum.
The Internet Anagram server provides only two solutions:
Bozo Glum Grunt
Bung Glut Mr Zoo
Way off topic, I know.
Since Teddy finally broke his losing streak at the end of last year, I'd go with William Henry Harrison. He could take two steps through the outfield gate, fall down and die. Would preserve the Nats' 'lovable loser' entry in the race.
Enlarge that picture of Woodrow Wilson and look at his teeth. You will be shocked. It actually is possible that the condition of his teeth contributed to the crippling stroke he suffered in his second term.
Peter
Barack Obama, who will always win
It will obviously be Obama, since so many Americans are so proud of themselves for twice electing a black man, even when the going got tough. He stood up to the slings and arrows from the racists who complained about every small insignificant detail, like debt, unemployment, and heavy-handed statism. Don't they know we're making history here?
My favorite two presidents, Cleveland and Coolidge, will never be honored because they weren't Great Men of History who did Big Things. They just did the job as it was supposed to be done, quietly and humbly and competently.
What do you call a chorizo sausage in quicksand?
Cinco cinco
What are the five racing sausages again? Italian, brat, polish, hot dog, chorizo, hey where is the the best of all, the Hungarian?
Pretty likely that, in his prime, Lincoln was the fastest President. Tall dude, strong, lean, competitive. The Colin Kapernick of Presidents.
If you watch Obama on the b-ball court, you see that he got his speed from his mother's side of the family.
I attended Yount's celebration. Can't say I remember the sausages. I do remember Robin doing an extended wheelie on his motorcycle on the warning track. Robin was cool.
Ah, but Inga ... which Hungarian sausage? Teli? Gyulai? Csabai? Debreceni? the Kilometre (very long)? Blood sausage? Liver sausage? I could name at least another half dozen.
Nagyon finom vannok.
The simple fact is that Hungary is the most dangerous place on the face of the planet to be pig.
They weren't sausages, but the Montréal Expos had "dot races" more than 30 years ago.
I'd make it Crazy Horse, the figure in the other massive mountain carving.
Crazy Horse would be a nice tie-in with the town's Redskins, and might help de-fuse the controversy over the name.
Nixon because then the racers can run with their arms outstretched in classic Nixon pose. It would be great, kind of like in pro wrestling where there is a villain no one wants to win.
Fortunately, there is no room for another Big Head on the Mt.
Bart Hall, any one of them is delicious, bu I believe the one I'm referring to is called Kolbascz, the fresh Hungarian that I get from a German Hungarian butcher in my area.
Except for the blood sausage, that is.
Inga, I don't think there are enough Hungarian-heritage folks in Milwaukee to make it worth their while (a Milwaukee German-Italian-Dane, here).
Kit, actually there are many Germans with a strong Hungarian influence in Milwaukee, they are called Donauschwaben.
Many of us in Milwaukee and Chicago, actually we're everywhere:)
Inga -- "kolbasz" refers to an entire family of sausages (Gyulai, Csabai, Debreceni, etc). In Milwaukee it's probably a Gyulai kolbasz.
If you enjoy such things, check out Bende (a big Hungarian outfit in Chicago). Lots of Austro-Hungarian goodies.
BTW, some of the best home-made farmer sausage I've ever had I bought at the Farmers' Market in Graz.
In Sioux Falls (which is just about as far away from Mt. Rushmore as you can get without leaving South Dakota), there are three public high schools - Washington, Lincoln, and Roosevelt.
Anybody want to bet on what they'll name the fourth, once the city gets big enough to support a fourth?
You're not a real Eastern European if you don't eat kishka. Hell, I'm southern Europe and I eat it, particularly @ Easter.
Taft would be a good choice. In addition to his easily recognizable and caricaturish (is that a word?) looks, he is the supposed inspiration for the seventh inning stretch.
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