{"id":100672,"date":"2019-11-07T05:59:20","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T11:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=100672"},"modified":"2019-11-07T16:32:50","modified_gmt":"2019-11-07T22:32:50","slug":"north-dakota-gets-in-arena-treat-over-weekend-with-teddy-roosevelt-impersonator-wiegand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/11\/07\/north-dakota-gets-in-arena-treat-over-weekend-with-teddy-roosevelt-impersonator-wiegand\/","title":{"rendered":"North Dakota gets in-arena treat over weekend with Teddy Roosevelt impersonator Wiegand"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Pictured from left are Midco Sports Network color analyst Jake Brandt, Theodore Roosevelt reprisor Joe Wiegand and Midco play-by-play commentator Alex Heinert (photo courtesy Alex Heinert).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most Midco Sports Network intermission segments during North Dakota home games follow a familiar pattern: highlights, player and coach interviews plus pre-recorded features.<\/p>\n

During the second intermission of UND\u2019s 4-1 win Oct. 26 against Bemidji State, though, Midco play-by-play commentator Alex Heinert and viewers at home were treated to something very different.<\/p>\n

Namely, the 26th president of the United States.<\/p>\n

An actor and historian, Joe Wiegand is the world\u2019s foremost Theodore Roosevelt reprisor. He regularly performs in Medora, N.D., gateway to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and he recently traveled east to Grand Forks to promote the Medora area, a popular summer vacation spot with its Wild West-themed musical revue.<\/p>\n

Before the second game of the Bemidji series, Wiegand performed for the Ralph Engelstad Arena crowd Roosevelt\u2019s famous \u201cCitizenship in a Republic\u201d speech from 1910 in Paris. Later, he had an on-air meeting with Heinert. Four days earlier, Midco producers and Heinert were approached by Medora representatives with the segment idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had looked up Medora and saw a clip on this guy, and I was a history major in college along with journalism and I thought, \u2018This will be great fun. Why not?\u2019\u201d Heinert said. \u201cIt\u2019s just an early-season game, non-conference and not as much maybe on the line necessarily as if it were against a big NCHC team, so I voted yes and then I kind of convinced the rest of the crew that it would be a good idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had seen a lot of social media stuff on Friday with Teddy around Grand Forks, and then it kind of started to dawn, \u2018Oh yeah, he\u2019s going to be 100 percent all-in on-character, and this is going to be a different interview than I\u2019m used to,\u2019 and it was.\u201d<\/p>\n