Big news: I finally got to the bottom of this cheesehead nonsense. Apparently, the Wisconsin Democratic Party issued all 90 of its delegates foam rubber cheese headgear, and instructed them to wear it during Tuesday night’s roll call, which was conducted by party secretary Jason Rae, himself a Wisconsinite. They all did, except for Governor Tony Evers, who read the delegation’s vote.

On Wednesday, delegate Amaad Rivera-Wagner was still wearing his cheesehead, as he stood in line for a hot dog at the United Center. I told him that, as a Chicagoan, I felt triggered by his headgear.

“When I walked in here, some of the United Center staff looked taken aback,” he said, with delight. “But I’m wearing this everywhere. Nothing is as iconic as a cheesehead. I’m from Green Bay. Titletown. We export championships.”

“We’ve got a good quarterback this year,” I said, weakly.

Rivera-Wagner looked at me with sympathy. Or maybe it was pity.

“Hope springs eternal,” he said.

Rivera-Wagner’s fellow delegates, Jan Way and Liz McDonald of Stevens Point, were bareheaded on Wednesday. The cheeseheads “are heavy,” Way complained. “They slip. All we know is we got a cheesehead and they asked us to wear it. We’ll wear it again if they ask us to. It’s public humiliation, though.”

Also, Way said, “We don’t want you to feel triggered. We love Chicago. I was here a year ago, yah. I saw Coldplay with my son and went to Ed Debevic’s.”

On Wednesday, I walked through the United Center, asking delegates what they’ve seen of Chicago so far. All of them just love our city, at least what they’ve been able to experience of it. Or at least that’s what they told me, a representative of Chicago magazine. This is a convention of good vibes, and they didn’t want to hurt my feelings.

Sherry Merrick, of Vermont, was visiting Chicago for the first time in her life. As a resident of the nation’s most rural state, whose tallest building is only 11 stories high, she was awed by our skyscrapers.

“On Sunday, we did the architectural river tour,” she said. “So many different architects that helped build Chicago. The building with the waves” — that would be the Aqua Tower — “amazing, so beautiful. Then we went on a neighborhood tour. This was our tour guide” — she flashed a photo of Shermann “Dilla” Thomas on her phone. “He’s so knowledgeable and smart.”

Merrick’s fellow Vermonter, Don Hooper, hadn’t been to Chicago since 1955, when he visited his father, who was working on constructing the Illinois Tollway. 

“I came a little early because I know Chicago has a reputation for being great,” he said. “I went to Wrigley Field. You have a very civil, urban place. There’s a Midwestern greatness to it. Remember Sandburg’s poem? ‘We don’t have to be an effete Eastern city. We can have our own personality that’s robust and tough and loving.’”

That was the most eloquent tribute I heard to Chicago. More often, delegates talked about our food, which is the Late Night with Stephen Colbert version of the city. Ben Friedman of Florida was headed back to his hotel at midnight on Tuesday after hearing Michelle and Barack Obama speak when he was stricken with hunger pangs.

“I was in an Uber. I was so hungry. The driver said, ‘You have to have an Italian beef,’ so he took me to this Italian beef restaurant. I can’t remember the name. I thought it was good. It was very messy. I ate it back in the hotel room and I probably only ate half the meat. The rest fell out.”

Gary Mannion of Massachusetts, “really wanted to try deep dish pizza. I really wanted to try Italian beef. I love The Bear. I worked in restaurants for a decade. My wife, she’s so mad she’s not with me.”

His verdict on deep dish? “It was different. It really wasn’t even like pizza for me. I wouldn’t put it in the same category.”

Mannion and his fellow Bay Staters also found “this place called the Billy Goat, under the bridge.” Chicagoans, you might want to check that place out.

More big news: I found out why the Washington delegation wore flashing cowboy hats on Monday. It was a tribute to “Cowboy Kamala,” which was a reference to Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album, whose anthem “Freedom” Harris uses in her appearances. Washington has a different dress theme every day. Wednesday’s was purple, in honor of Prince, Tim Walz’s fellow Minnesotan. Rohana Joshi didn’t own anything purple, so she bought a lavender blazer at Nordstrom Rack on State Street. Joshi, who is 18, is only making her second trip to Chicago, but she just loves it here.

“I feel like I could fit right in in Chicago,” she said. “There’s so much to do here. I think there’s only a few other cities I’d move to other than Seattle, and Chicago is one of them.”

I can’t think of a higher compliment than that.