CHICAGO – There is a lot to experience when walking through the hall of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago.

A combination of the loud noise of general conversation, the monitors in news studios blaring excerpts from the previous night’s speeches, and the hum of helicopters scanning the skies for interference is enough to cause tension in the frontal lobe within minutes.

But amid all the sights and sounds at the convention, one detail on the floor caught the attention of every member of the WTMJ crew in Chicago this week: 57 white landline phones attached to each of the poles bearing the name of a state or territory.

The phones themselves aren’t particularly remarkable: a simple, solid white landline phone connected to a blue box, sitting next to a small intercom. But even though they may not seem particularly conspicuous, they are crucial to the smooth running of the convention. After all, both the DNC and the Republican National Convention are referred to in the media world as a “four-day live television show,” and so a technical faux pas could have catastrophic consequences.

“They’re basically here so the DNC can give general instructions or give us any information we need to know,” Sarah Abel, executive director of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, tells me. “And then we can get that information out to our delegates.”

The best comparison is with the telephones that still stand in the dugouts at American Family Field, which were once used to call the bullpens. Imagine if Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison was Brewers manager Pat Murphy and Abel was bullpen coach Charlie Greene. Now I’m imagining Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers running from the back of the DNC podium to the lectern on the main stage, all to loud jazz music (if Tuesday night is any indicator, the governor will could Consider toning down the jazz a bit):