Teddy Roosevelt, one of the Washington Nationals racing presidents, celebrates after crossing the finish line and winning the Presidents Race for the first time.
As Whispers predicted last week, Teddy the underdog racing president won the fourth-inning president's race during the Washington Nationals' last regular season game Wednesday afternoon—marking the first time he beat "George," "Tom," and "Abe" in the team's history.
Previously, Teddy was on a more than 500-race losing streak.
The 26th president mascot's victory Wednesday came on the heels of a record-setting season by the Nationals, a series against the Philidelphia Phillies dubbed the "Teddyin2012" series, and calls by Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and the White House to let Teddy finally win.
Scott Ableman of the blog "Let Teddy Win," which spearheaded the pro-Teddy movement, reported just before the race that Teddy had also received golden sneakers Wednesday and a pep talk from the Nationals players.
But while Nats fans like Ableman will cheer the Teddy win, others believe it can only spell trouble.
"Teddy wins. The Curse of Teddy is now upon us. Be warned," the Washington Post's Going Out Guide tweeted ominously. "Danny Espinosa is the first Nats player to strike out in the post-Teddy era. He got the curse," Yahoo! News reporter Chris Moody agreed.
If the Nationals lose in the playoffs—where they are now headed—will poor Teddy be the one fans blame?
Below, watch Redskins staff react to Teddy's win:
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Elizabeth Flock is a staff writer for U.S. News & World Report. You can contact her at eflock@usnews.com or follow her on Twitter or Facebook.
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