The election of the first American Pope has turned out to be a bit of a boost for Chicago sports fans. Robert Prevost was elected by his fellow Cardinals to be the new Pope, and the Chicago native has taken the name of Leo XIV. A Chicago Cubs fan has taken notice.

Prevost's brother said for the record that his brother is a baseball fan, and he has been known to support the Chicago White Sox. He actually attended the 2005 World Series that saw the Chicago South Side baseball team emerge victorious in four straight games.

A Chicago sports fan has reportedly made a parlay bet that has been dubbed the “Pope Parlay.” The bet includes the first-place Chicago Cubs winning the World Series and the Villanova Wildcats winning the 2026 NCAA basketball championship.

Prevost graduated from Villanova, and that's why the bet is dubbed the Pope Parlay.

The two-team parlay is listed with a boxcar payoff of plus-171600. That's because the Cubs are plus-1600 to win the World Series while Villanova is a much bigger longshot at plus-10000.

Cubs off to brilliant start, but National League is loaded with powerful teams

Chicago Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker (30) hits a solo home run in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field.
Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
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The Cubs have played extremely well since the start of the season, and manager Craig Counsell's team has consistently demonstrated a powerful hitting attack that has allowed them to get off to a 22-16 start.

Chicago's National League team has scored seven run or more 15 times since April 1. Their offensive attack has been led by Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Kyle Tucker. Each of those sluggers have hit nine home runs to this point in the season. Catcher Carson Kelly has added eight home runs while shortstop Dansby Swanson has added seven home runs.

While the start has exceeded expectation for many Cubs supporters — presumably including the Chicago native elected as the Pope — the North Siders are facing superior competition in the National League this season.

The New York Mets, the San Diego Padres and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers will be looking to stop the Cubs throughout the season.

As tough as it will be for the Cubs to bring home their part of the Pope Parlay, the Villanova Wildcats are a much bigger underdog.

The Wildcats have won 3 national championships in 1985, 2016 and 2018, but the 2024-25 team finished with a 19-14 record and were 11-9 in the Big East. The Wildcats did not even make the 2025 NCAA tournament and will have a long way to go if they are going to dominate college basketball in the upcoming season.