In reality, Guy is right -- the polls don't
really mean anything, and have no bearing on
results.
However, they are fun to debate about. Our society is
inundated with them, in sports, politics, entertainment,
even literature (top books of the 20th century). There
must be something about polls and other rankings that
keeps them around. For me, it's wanting to know how my
team and others compare to teams across the country,
especially those whom I don't play on a regular
basis.
Plus when I put my poll together, I try to bring CBI,
NAQT, and ACF results into a synthesis. The poll as I
see it is a combo of all three formats.
But
true, polls don't mean that much -- simple tournament
results and stats can supply most comparison data (NAQT
uses this well).
-Adam