The pomp. The pageantry. The passion. You just can’t beat a clash of college football powerhouses.
Or can you? Pretty easily, in fact?
In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on the site formerly known as Twitter, we wanted to know which you would rather watch — rooting interests aside — a huge college game or any old NFL game. By a small margin, the vote leaned NFL.
“Even the lousy teams have great players,” @RonaldVoigt4 commented.
“Sunday games are more intense,” @JBIRD1268 wrote.
“I’d rather be at a college tailgate,” offered @JeffreyCanalia, “but pro football is better.”
We also asked for your World Series prediction. Will it be the Diamondbacks or the Rangers?
“Gotta root for the team that helped eliminate the Cubs so we can console ourselves with, ‘At least we lost to the champs,’ ” @RogersParkMan commented, throwing in with Arizona.
Last, we asked how the Bears — 8½-point underdogs — will fare Sunday night against the Chargers.
On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: Rooting interests aside, would you rather watch a top college football matchup or a random NFL game?
It’s time for this week’s “Polling Place.” Let us hear from you! Selected comments will appear in Saturday's paper.
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) October 26, 2023
Q1: Rooting interests aside, would you rather watch a top college football matchup or a random NFL game?
Upshot: Let’s see, we’ve got Michigan-Ohio State on one channel and Browns-Texans on the other and … are you people for real? Ah, but this is a pro sports town, isn’t it? Sometimes, a college football nut needs to remind himself of that.
Poll No. 2: The World Series begins on Friday. What’s your prediction?
Q2: The World Series begins on Friday. What's your prediction?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) October 26, 2023
Upshot: Clearly, the regular season is meaningless. The Rangers, who won a modest 90 games in the regular season, might as well have been the 1927 Yankees the way they swung the sticks in Houston. The D-Backs, who slithered their way to just 84 wins, balled up the massive mojo the Phillies had and chucked it into the Delaware River like it was nothing. Hey, these teams are pretty dang good.
Poll No. 3: The 2-5 Bears are 8½-point underdogs against the 2-4 Chargers. What happens Sunday night at SoFi Stadium?
Q3: The 2-5 Bears are 8½-point underdogs against the 2-4 Chargers. What happens Sunday night at SoFi Stadium?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) October 26, 2023
Upshot: Let’s not kid ourselves; the Bears going on the road and winning a prime-time game against anybody would be highly unusual and a sight for sore eyes. Can the Chargers be had? Look, it’s not like they’re the 1972 Dolphins. Or even the 1927 Yankees.