People’s Choice: Broncos

WASHINGTON — The battle to be America’s Team in Super Bowl XXII already has been fought and won--by the Denver Broncos, who beat the Redskins by eight (percentage) points in the latest Washington Post-ABC News Poll.

Slightly more than half--53%--of all football fans interviewed said they hoped the Broncos will win on Sunday, while 45 said they will root for the Redskins. The remaining 2% were undecided.

When asked to put sentiment aside, an even bigger majority--60%--said they thought the Broncos would win the game, while 38% picked the Redskins.

A Broncos win was predicted by majorities in every region in the country, but particularly in the Midwest and West where nearly two-thirds said they expected Denver to win.

The Redskins were the sentimental choice only in the South, where 52% said they hoped the Redskins would win--even though only 43% thought Washington would triumph.

In the East, presumably where the Redskins would be the regional favorites, they weren’t: only 43% of eastern football fans said they were rooting for the Redskins, while 53% said they were Broncos backers.