“Chicago’s Big Ten Team,” is it?
If only Northwestern had the local fan support to go with that self-styled moniker.
In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter, we wanted to know which college football team you root for the most. Our voters went in pretty big on Illinois, less so on Notre Dame and hardly at all on the Wildcats, whose controversial offseason likely played into the results at least a tiny bit.
“Orange and Blue is always the right answer in Illinois,” @IlliniNewsTweet commented.
“Notre Dame and the team from the state above us with the white helmets and the red ‘W,’ ” wrote @mikewalsh4609, most likely referring to — according to our elaborate deductive systems — Wisconsin. “Please don’t make me relinquish my Illinois citizenship.”
We’d never.
We also asked which Bears running back excites you most — Khalil Herbert, D’Onta Foreman or rookie Roschon Johnson — and whether or not the Sky will make the WNBA playoffs.
“[The Sky] were so good,” @jedgarnaut wrote. “It’s a shame everybody but [Kahleah] Copper left.”
Indeed. And on to the polls:
Poll No. 1: Which college football team do you root for the most?
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) August 17, 2023
Q1: Which college football team do you root for the most?
Upshot: The Illini are enjoying upticks in on-field success, season-ticket sales and overall engagement from fans, and it shows in these results. Not everybody has the warm-and-fuzzies for big-time college sports nowadays, though. “I’m rather disgusted by everything NCAA,” @RonaldVoigt4 offered. “I’m gonna spend some Saturday afternoons watching my old high school team.”
Poll No. 2: Which Bears running back are you most excited about?
Q2: Which Bears running back are you most excited about?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) August 17, 2023
Upshot: Johnson, who played second banana to Bijan Robinson at Texas, is big, physical and — always interesting — a former quarterback. He just might have more to offer in the NFL than one would think at first glance. “How good can he become?” asked @BarroomNetwork. “He has all the attributes to be a super-productive back in this offense.”
Poll No. 3: With 10 games to go, the Sky (12-18) are tied for the eighth and final spot in the WNBA playoffs. Will they get in?
Q3: With 10 games to go, the Sky (12-18) are tied for the eighth and final spot in the WNBA playoffs. Will they get in?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) August 17, 2023
Upshot: It turns out when a couple of future Hall-of-Famers bolt and the architect of your roster bolts, too, it doesn’t bode well in the wins-and-losses department. Who knew? It’s impossible to know if and when the Sky might get back even close to where they were at their championship peak. As for squeaking into the playoffs this year, @DadsThumb writes, “Yes, but — matching their inconsistent cohesion — it’ll be by just barely hanging on.”
