Games People Play
I have talked a bunch of Iowa politics this year with very many interesting people.
One story that sticks out was from someone who would know. When Donald Trump flew to Iowa to campaign for President in 2015; everywhere, he went, Democrats (as well as Republicans, of course) would line up to have their pictures taken.
This seems like the wrong week to bring up that memory, but I think it illustrates a fact. The caucus is weird.
I try to focus on the weird side. Occasionally, I get sidetracked with serious content. Anyway, let's clear some of this out.
One of the funnest stories was that the Iowa Cubs, the Des Moines based Triple A minor league team re-branded one night as the Iowa Caucuses.
I would have loved to gone, but it was the team's last home-stand for the season, and sold out, standing room only.
NBC reported: The team’s jerseys will feature blue sleeves with white stars in the style of the American flag. The name “Iowa Caucuses” will be across the chest. On the back of the jersey is the shape of Iowa with the slogan “1st in the nation.”
The Iowa Cubs has seen a lot of candidates visit through the years. I remember Barack Obama and Bill Richardson in 2007. This July 4, Beto O'Rourke and Joe Biden were in attendance, and Pete Buttigieg visited in August.
Minor League Baseball even reported that Eddie Vedder was buying the gear:
Meanwhile, outside of the political sphere, the Caucuses received an unexpected endorsement from Pearl Jam singer (and noted Cubs fan) Eddie Vedder.
"Right after our [Caucuses] announcement, there was a gun control symposium at the convention center," said Wehofer. "That was something that Eddie wanted to be involved in, so he flew in and afterwards his plane was delayed. He stopped by the ballpark and bought a few Caucuses hats and a few other things, unannounced."
Since the caucuses are confusing, the Cubs handed out info on the process as well.
Apparently, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats team had done this before, rebranding as the Primaries and handing out Red and Blue caps.
Speaking of baseball, the Iowa Cubs is not the only place where candidates pop up. Rick Santorum went to Living History Farms in 2011, where they have 19th Century Baseball, and played with them.
Early baseball is interesting if you ever get a chance to watch it. The batter gets to call pitches- high or low. The fielders don't have gloves, so if they catch a ball on a hop, you're out.
Another baseball destination is the Field of Dreams on the Eastern side of the state.
Bernie Sanders took in that particular attraction, but it gets a bit complicated.
You see, he planned a game between his staffers versus the media. Nothing wrong with that, maybe, but they were also charging admission, and some of the journalists balked at the idea of being part of a fundraiser.
Sanders did round up some bloggers and the like, and so we end up with the surreal moment, which of course, is normal in a caucus year.
The local paper indicated that Sanders did not mention Trump or his opponents, and advocated his platform. Buzzfeed says he was selling baseball cards, which I thought were cute.
From Burlington, Vermont, wearing jersey #46 (Trump is 45, geddit?), he throws right, bats right, and thinks left!
Memorabilia is a big thing in this election. Andrew Yang is in the news this week, raising a half-million dollars just on MATH hats and other items, but perhaps, that is a blog post for another time. Granted, hats that say MATH are kind of cool, and his bumper stickers barely even say Yang on it.
I love to see the caucus exciting Iowans, I will leave you with the ad for the local tabletop game convention which calls itself the Cardboard Caucus; if only to make a "Make Carcassonne Great Again" joke.
One story that sticks out was from someone who would know. When Donald Trump flew to Iowa to campaign for President in 2015; everywhere, he went, Democrats (as well as Republicans, of course) would line up to have their pictures taken.
This seems like the wrong week to bring up that memory, but I think it illustrates a fact. The caucus is weird.
I try to focus on the weird side. Occasionally, I get sidetracked with serious content. Anyway, let's clear some of this out.
One of the funnest stories was that the Iowa Cubs, the Des Moines based Triple A minor league team re-branded one night as the Iowa Caucuses.
I would have loved to gone, but it was the team's last home-stand for the season, and sold out, standing room only.
NBC reported: The team’s jerseys will feature blue sleeves with white stars in the style of the American flag. The name “Iowa Caucuses” will be across the chest. On the back of the jersey is the shape of Iowa with the slogan “1st in the nation.”
The cap also features a state of Iowa logo with a big foam finger that says “1st” on it.
The Iowa Cubs has seen a lot of candidates visit through the years. I remember Barack Obama and Bill Richardson in 2007. This July 4, Beto O'Rourke and Joe Biden were in attendance, and Pete Buttigieg visited in August.
Minor League Baseball even reported that Eddie Vedder was buying the gear:
Meanwhile, outside of the political sphere, the Caucuses received an unexpected endorsement from Pearl Jam singer (and noted Cubs fan) Eddie Vedder.
"Right after our [Caucuses] announcement, there was a gun control symposium at the convention center," said Wehofer. "That was something that Eddie wanted to be involved in, so he flew in and afterwards his plane was delayed. He stopped by the ballpark and bought a few Caucuses hats and a few other things, unannounced."
Since the caucuses are confusing, the Cubs handed out info on the process as well.
Apparently, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats team had done this before, rebranding as the Primaries and handing out Red and Blue caps.
Speaking of baseball, the Iowa Cubs is not the only place where candidates pop up. Rick Santorum went to Living History Farms in 2011, where they have 19th Century Baseball, and played with them.
Early baseball is interesting if you ever get a chance to watch it. The batter gets to call pitches- high or low. The fielders don't have gloves, so if they catch a ball on a hop, you're out.
Another baseball destination is the Field of Dreams on the Eastern side of the state.
Bernie Sanders took in that particular attraction, but it gets a bit complicated.
You see, he planned a game between his staffers versus the media. Nothing wrong with that, maybe, but they were also charging admission, and some of the journalists balked at the idea of being part of a fundraiser.
Sanders did round up some bloggers and the like, and so we end up with the surreal moment, which of course, is normal in a caucus year.
The local paper indicated that Sanders did not mention Trump or his opponents, and advocated his platform. Buzzfeed says he was selling baseball cards, which I thought were cute.
From Burlington, Vermont, wearing jersey #46 (Trump is 45, geddit?), he throws right, bats right, and thinks left!
Memorabilia is a big thing in this election. Andrew Yang is in the news this week, raising a half-million dollars just on MATH hats and other items, but perhaps, that is a blog post for another time. Granted, hats that say MATH are kind of cool, and his bumper stickers barely even say Yang on it.
I love to see the caucus exciting Iowans, I will leave you with the ad for the local tabletop game convention which calls itself the Cardboard Caucus; if only to make a "Make Carcassonne Great Again" joke.
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