How many reasons could we list why a White Sox stadium in the South Loop might be a fine idea?
One reason? Two? Seventy-eight?
In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on the site formerly known as Twitter, we wanted to know how you felt after seeing reports of the Sox considering a potential stadium build in the area known as The 78.
“The South Loop is where they should’ve gone back in 1990,” @ChiTownSports commented.
“I just have this bad feeling the ballpark will end up facing south and won’t have a view of the Chicago skyline,” @SultanOfClout wrote. “The Sox always find a way to miss opportunities.”
And from @Jmcdonnell1962, coming at it from a different angle: “Not a damn dime of public money to [Sox chairman] Jerry Reinsdorf. Fool me once.”
Also, with injured sensation Connor Bedard on the shelf, we asked if your interest in the Blackhawks has waned.
“Hard to watch a team this bad without the Kid,” @sirveyer offered.
Last, we asked you to pick a weekend NFL playoff game as the one to watch: Texans-Ravens, Packers-49ers, Bucs-Lions or Chiefs-Bills.
On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: Which best captures your initial reaction to talk of a new White Sox stadium in the South Loop?
Upshot: It wouldn’t take 78 reasons for any naysayer to argue against a publicly funded stadium. One, the Sox have taken state taxpayers down that road before. Two, the Sox aren’t even putting a winning product on the field. Three, see one and two. Still, if it can work out, a new stadium connected to downtown could be a real game changer.
Poll No. 2: With injured Blackhawks sensation Connor Bedard on the shelf, has your interest in the team waned?
Upshot: Bedard is a blast to watch because he always seems to be a sudden burst of speed or flick of the wrists from a scoring opportunity. The problem is the rest of the team, which always seems to be one false move from being demoted en masse to Rockford. No Bedard equals a no-go for most.
Poll No. 3: If you could watch only one playoff game this weekend, which would it be?
Upshot: But what about the NFC North? Or as @dinosaurfuggit put it, “Chiefs-Bills from an NFC city? Gross.” Yeah, well, forget that noise — Patrick Mahomes against Josh Allen is too big a deal not to steal the show.