Look, under the tree!
Is it an NFL contender? An NBA contender? An NHL contender?
Talk about a Christmas miracle, in any case.
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 not-gonna-happen gift would delight you most this holiday season: big-time success by the Bears, by the Bulls or by the Blackhawks.
“That won’t happen in Chicago for years,” @JBIRD1268 commented.
OK, then, maybe some socks and a sweater?
“Well, an NFL and NHL contender is out of the question,” @1AlanRoss1 wrote, “so it’s between NBA contender and the socks and sweater.”
There also were a couple of write-ins for Cody Bellinger to the Cubs and a new owner for the White Sox. You people are funny.
Next, we asked how sold you are on Bulls guard Coby White, who’s having a breakout season. Last, we asked how many of the Bears’ three remaining games they’ll win.
On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: All I want for Christmas is …
Upshot: Time and again, these polls reflect the extent to which this is, first and foremost, a Bears town. We are gluttons for punishment, are we not? Ah, well, the Bears are bound to contend for another Super Bowl berth someday … maybe.
Poll No. 2: Bulls guard Coby White has been on fire. Are you sold on him as a long-term starter?
Upshot: The question isn’t whether or not the Bulls still have a Big Three. It’s whether or not White is one of the Big Three. “I’m sold on Coby as a long-term All-Star,” @RonaldVoigt4 wrote. “Amazing what can happen when you let a player develop — and he’s only 23.”
Poll No. 3: The Bears have games left against the Cardinals, Falcons and Packers. How many of them will they win?
Upshot: Bears fans remain hopeful in the face of so much suffering, with nearly two-thirds of the vote being split by the 3-0 and 2-1 camps. Bottom line: Even if the 5-9 Bears win only one of their remaining games — the one against the Packers — most fans will take it going into the offseason.