Colts and commercials prevail in Goshen College’s ‘penny poll’

GOSHEN, Ind. – In what could be a harbinger of Sunday’s showdown, the Indianapolis Colts easily defeated the Chicago Bears in the Goshen College Super Bowl Penny Poll.

Students, faculty and staff voted their football team preferences in Super Bowl LXI by dropping pennies and other coins into jars for the Bears and Colts at the Westlawn Dining Hall on campus this week.

In the end, the Colts beat the Bears by a lopsided score of 3,456 to 896. In Sunday’s “Midwest classic,” odds makers have made Indianapolis a far more modest seven-point favorite over Chicago.

The poll results surprised two Goshen students.

“I think it’s about half and half just because we’re so close to Chicago. I mean, it could pretty much go either way with Bears and Colts fans here,” said Hugh Weiskittel, a first-year student from Indianapolis.

Sae Chan Lee, a sophomore from South Korea, agreed. “Campus-wide, there are a lot of kids rooting for the Colts and also for the Bears,” he said.

People on campus also got the opportunity to weigh in on whether they mainly plan to watch Sunday’s game — or the ever-popular commercials. Those preferring the commercials easily prevailed over game fans by a final tally of 420 to 300.

The polling drew spirited participation over three days. Although most students only deposited a few coins at time, Weiskittel and Lee said they also saw “penny stuffing” – people grabbing handfuls of pennies from one jar and transferring them to another.

“There was definitely a little stuffing going on. People were pulling for the Colts,” Weiskittel said. “Everyone was walking by and taking more money than they should and throwing everything in there.”

Lee added, “I personally saw the people stuffing pennies in there because I saw one day it was evened out and the other day all those pennies were fluctuating a lot.”

Richard R. Aguirre, the college’s director of public relations, downplayed concerns about polling problems.

“I’m sure that any students who might have done this are sorry and have atoned for their behavior,” Aguirre said. “Besides, we never specifically banned penny stuffing and even the state of Florida had its voting problems in the 2000 election.”

Besides pennies, the oldest of which dated to 1940, participants also deposited quarters, Canadian cents and a green Gummy Bear. The pennies and other coins used in the light-hearted event – totaling $50.72 – were donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Goshen.

Meanwhile, Weiskittel and Lee said they will root for the Colts.

“I’m from Indy. I’ve got to represent them,” Weiskittel said laughing.

Added Lee with a smile, “I’m hoping for a close game so it will be a good Super Bowl, but I hope the Colts win. For sure.”

Editors: Please contact the Goshen College Public Relations Office if you have questions about the Super Bowl Penny Poll by calling Jodi H. Beyeler, director of the campus news bureau, at (574) 535-7572 or e-mailing jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.