We polled the Saints for their favorite Christmas movie. There was a clear winner.

The players for the New Orleans Saints have spoken: Kevin McCallister is the best when it comes to Christmas movies.

Over the past two weeks, The Times-Picayune has polled 57 Saints players about their favorite Christmas movie in the locker room. All but two of those participants shared their thoughts about their favorites, and the first “Home Alone” film, featuring Macaulay Culkin as McCallister, was the clear winner with 11 total votes.

When the sequels are taken into account, 15 out of the 55 players voted for Home Alone in one way or another. One particularly contentious vote, for Home Alone 3, caused some participants to cast a sidelong glance at the other players.

In all, 20 movies earned at least one vote, with half of them earning multiple votes.

Four of the players polled for this story decided to change their vote. One thought about it overnight and switched from “Elf” to the live action version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Another originally chose “Jingle All the Way,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, then overheard a teammate opt for “Friday After Next” and asked to change his vote.

One player claimed he always rewatches the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie over the holiday season, so he didn’t really adhere to the Christmas theme.

The single player to vote for “Die Hard” claimed he did so only to “pisses people off,” citing the current debate in the public sphere regarding the film’s eligibility as a Christmas film. After that, he instantly changed to “Claymation Rudolph,” or “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” since his mother had previously informed him that he should have been on the Island of Misfit Toys.

Two players declined to name a favorite Christmas movie. One of them simply responded that he is “not a big movie guy,” while the other thought for a second before saying, “I don’t f****n’ know,” and walking off.

The classics got some love, but not enough to push toward the top of the leaderboard. Two Saints voted for “It’s a Wonderful Life,” while only one opted for “A Christmas Story.” One player wanted to specifically single out “A Miser Brothers’ Christmas” for its historical significance.

“I feel like it’s one of the classics,” he said. “It was a VHS classic, a lot of kids watched it when they were young, a lot of newer kids won’t even know what it is. It was one of those stop motion pictures that marked the evolution of Christmas movies and brought us to where we are today.”

The Christmas-themed follow-up to the comedy “Friday,” “Friday After Next,” was a top choice in the Saints locker room. One respondent said that the movie’s ability to hold its own outside of the holiday season is a contributing factor in its longevity.

He called it “a classic.” It’s one of those holiday films that anyone can see in April. Neither “Home Alone” nor “Polar Express” are something you watch in April. “Next Friday?” That is on now that the summer is here. It also has a Christmas theme. It’s a mainstay in my neighborhood, dude.

Here’s the full list.

1. Home Alone: 11
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (live action): 7
3. Friday After Next: 6
4. Elf: 6
5. Home Alone 2: 3
6. Christmas Vacation: 3
7. Klaus: 3
8. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated): 2
9. It’s a Wonderful Life: 2
10. Polar Express: 2
11. Claymation Rudolph (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer): 1
12. Home Alone 3: 1
13. Eight Crazy Nights: 1
14. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 1
15. The Best Man Holiday: 1
16. A Christmas Story: 1
17. A Year Without Santa Claus: 1
18. A Miser Brothers Christmas: 1
19. The Christmas Chronicles: 1
20. This Christmas:1

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