Barack Obama and John McCain might not face off until Tuesday, but could the election really be determined on Monday night? If history is any indication, there is indeed a 94% chance that the Monday Night Football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins will decide the election.Since 1936, the Redskins are 17-1 in determining the result of the upcoming election. Here's how it works: If the Redskins win their last home game before the presidential election, the incumbent party remains in office, which would be McCain and the Republicans in 2008. If the Redskins lose their last home game before the election, the other party takes office, which would be Obama and the Democrats in the event that the Steelers win this year.
The only problem is that this system, while incredibly accurate, is on a losing streak. The Redskins were 17-0 in predicting the next president of the United States of America until the most recent Election Day in 2004, when the Skins fell to the Green Bay Packers at home on Halloween, 28-14. Since Washington lost at home, George W. Bush of the incumbent Republican party was supposed to lose the election to Democrat John Kerry--but we all know how that turned out. So either the losing streak will continue on Tuesday, or the system will start another run of 17-straight accurate predictions.
Either way, we won't know the results of this proven system until we know the results of the Steelers and Redskins game. So, since we already picked Obama to win the presidency, and since our Free NFL Picks system also likes the Steelers, we're going with the Democrats over the incumbent Republicans.
Barack Obama +2 over John McCain
Oops, that should read:
Steelers +2 over the Redskins
Those Free NFL Picks went 3-0 on Sunday, and are 16-10-2 for 62% this year. That, coupled with the 17-1 system (94%) Redskins system, should put the odds on our side.
Good luck, and enjoy the election... and the game!
