Public Policy Polling’s latest Illinois poll reveals some interesting numbers about baseball fans in the Land of Lincoln.
Not surprisingly, 40 percent of Illinois residents identified as Cubs fans, which far exceeded any other baseball team. What was more interesting was how narrow the gap was between White Sox and Cardinals fans.
Twenty-two percent of respondents identified as White Sox fans, while just 19 percent identified as Cardinals fans.
It’s a somewhat surprising result, given how many Cardinals fans populate the southern half of the state and how much more successful they’ve been.
The Cards have won two championships, three pennants, eight division titles and made the playoffs 10 times since 2001. The Sox, meanwhile, have one World Series title, one pennant, two division titles and two playoff appearances during that same span.
The Yankees were the next most popular team in Illinois with three percent of residents identifying as fans. The Braves and Red Sox had two percent each, and the Tigers and Brewers had one percent each. Eleven percent of respondents claimed another team or no team.