A cluster of golden retriever puppies seen on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." has failed to become a reliable source for determining the outcome of the Super Bowl. They did guess right on the Patriots for Super Bowl LIII. However, their predictive abilities fell short in 2020, as they seemed much more attracted to the 49ers bowl of kibble -- obviously, they're likely never to doubt Patrick Mahomes again (via NBC Chicago).
They also thought that the Falcons would win in 2017, and that the Patriots would win in 2018. Clearly, we must look elsewhere for strangely accurate and coincidental predictions involving the NFL.
To the Bears-Colts series we go, then. And, no, the Super Bowl isn't the big competition that this series predicts. Instead, this series has correctly determined the outcome of the presidential election ever since the NFL realigned into eight divisions, meaning the two teams hold their regular season matchup during election years.
Reddit user y_wont_my_line_block -- sounds like a Jets, Giants or Bengals fan, if you ask me -- uncovered the odd fact that a Colts' regular season victory over the Bears has correlated with a Republican candidate victory, while the Bears have correlated with a Democratic candidate victory.
In 2004, on the shoulders of Edgerrin James (215 total yards, one TD) and Reggie Wayne (106 yards, two TDs), the Colts crushed the Bears, 41-10. George W. Bush stayed in office for four more years.
In 2008, the Bears took a two-score lead thanks to a Charles Tillman forced fumble and a subsequent recovery for a touchdown by Lance Briggs. The Bears won 29-13, and Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States months later.
Three Andrew Luck interceptions and a strong rushing performance by the Bears (118 yards, three total touchdowns) were way too much for the Colts to overcome, as the Bears won the teams' 2012 matchup 41-21. Barack Obama stayed in office for four more years.
But Andrew Luck got his vengeance in 2016, as Andrew Luck's 35-yard touchdown to T.Y. Hilton with fewer than four minutes to go gave the Colts the lead, and they never looked back. Donald Trump became the 45th president within months.
Will the trend continue in 2020? The Colts downed the Bears in a low-scoring affair which was dominated by the Colts' defense, and if the pattern of predictiveness holds, then Donald Trump will be reelected for his second term. However, the current national polls indicate that Joe Biden is ahead by a fairly large margin overall (via BBC) and in some key states (via Forbes).
It's only four games, which doesn't make it all that crazy, in my opinion. What's crazier to me is that someone saw that correlation in the first place. Kudos to Reddit's y_wont_my_line_block, and I'm hoping your team finds some more success in the trenches in the coming weeks!
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