Maybe you were a Cubs fan in 1969 and had your heart broken as the team faded out of playoff contention. If you were around as the things deteriorated for the Cubs in the 1989 division series, you know it was no fun. The back-to-back NLDS blankings in 2007 and 2008 were beyond frustrating, for sure.
But those Cubs disappointments don’t stack up in infamy to the ones in 1984 and 2003. Saturday is the 20-year anniversary of the fateful Game 6 against the Marlins in the NLCS, so, in this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on the site formerly known as Twitter, we asked which Cubs postseason failure hurt the worst.
“I was absolutely crushed in 1984,” @ChiTownSports commented. “Not afraid to admit I cried.”
We also asked which league has the best postseason between the NBA, NFL, NHL and the major leagues.
“I have to give it to the NFL,” @Mr_Woof_Panini wrote, “mostly because I probably won’t watch a full five- to seven-game series between two teams I don’t care about.”
Finally, we asked for your winner of Sunday’s Bears-Vikings game. On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: Saturday is the 20th anniversary of the Cubs’ Game 6 loss to the Marlins in the NLCS? Which Cubs postseason failure hurt the worst?
Upshot: There must be some recency bias at play, not that 2003 doesn’t easily pass the rip-your-heart-out-and-stomp-on-it test. Are we sure 2016 made Cubs fans feel completely better?
Poll No. 2: Which of these leagues has the best postseason?
Upshot: Though @CrankyMcCrank5 insists “football is better at everything,” look at this support for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Is it the higher rate of series upsets in hockey that draws us in? The overtime games? The busted teeth faces? The beards? Yes, all of it.
Poll No. 3: The Bears host the Vikings on Sunday. Who wins?
Upshot: So what if the Bears have lost four straight to the Vikings? The Bears won a real, live football game the last time they took the field, and that, judging by the voting on this one, instantly transformed them into a powerhouse. Oh, and Justin Jefferson isn’t playing.
