Not that I needed a news poll on our Web site to confirm it, but people around here really are interested in Brett Favre.
The Green Bay Packers quarterback, one of the best to ever play in the NFL, is finishing his news conference announcing his retirement from football as I write this. The news broke on deadline Tuesday morning, and you could almost feel the state's collective heart sink.
The news of Favre's retirement was so big in Wisconsin that we decided to do something we won't do very often - ask a sports question in our online news poll. I won't repeat the question here. You can check it out on our home page, and vote if you haven't already. But within the first 24 hours of the poll being posted, we had about 150 responses - almost as many as we had last week when we asked people what they thought about the New York Times' story on John McCain.
People here really have opinions about Favre and the Packers. About John McCain? Maybe not so much.
One thing I've noticed about the poll is that people are less interested in voting on what we in the media would term a hot-button national issue. The two questions that have drawn the lowest number of responses so far have been about the Iraq troop surge and gun control.
So, I guess, don't look for us to be asking any questions about abortion or immigration any time soon.
• • •
Speaking of Favre, can I say something about his crying today? Generally, I hate it when athletes weep during news conferences announcing their retirement. But if any player deserved a good cry on his way out, it's Favre.
• • •
I asked political cartoonist Rick Sherman today this question: Which of the three remaining presidential candidates is easist to draw.
His answer:
Obama.
There really isn't a whole lot to exaggerate on the other two. Hillary's hair, maybe, and McCain's almost featureless face, perhaps, but of the whole bunch, I was hoping for Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich. There was a whole lot there to play with.
The Green Bay Packers quarterback, one of the best to ever play in the NFL, is finishing his news conference announcing his retirement from football as I write this. The news broke on deadline Tuesday morning, and you could almost feel the state's collective heart sink.
The news of Favre's retirement was so big in Wisconsin that we decided to do something we won't do very often - ask a sports question in our online news poll. I won't repeat the question here. You can check it out on our home page, and vote if you haven't already. But within the first 24 hours of the poll being posted, we had about 150 responses - almost as many as we had last week when we asked people what they thought about the New York Times' story on John McCain.
People here really have opinions about Favre and the Packers. About John McCain? Maybe not so much.
One thing I've noticed about the poll is that people are less interested in voting on what we in the media would term a hot-button national issue. The two questions that have drawn the lowest number of responses so far have been about the Iraq troop surge and gun control.
So, I guess, don't look for us to be asking any questions about abortion or immigration any time soon.
• • •
Speaking of Favre, can I say something about his crying today? Generally, I hate it when athletes weep during news conferences announcing their retirement. But if any player deserved a good cry on his way out, it's Favre.
• • •
I asked political cartoonist Rick Sherman today this question: Which of the three remaining presidential candidates is easist to draw.
His answer:
Obama.
There really isn't a whole lot to exaggerate on the other two. Hillary's hair, maybe, and McCain's almost featureless face, perhaps, but of the whole bunch, I was hoping for Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich. There was a whole lot there to play with.
