Redskins lose, Obama wins?

As it turns out, the Washington Redskins football team have been a very accurate predictor of US presidential elections.

Whenever the Redskins lose their last home game played before a national election the party in power loses. And, vice versa, if the Redskins win, the challenging party wins.

This prognosticating record began in 1936, when the team was still the Boston Redskins. From Snopes.com:

On 1 November 1936 the Boston Redskins downed the Chicago Cardinals at Fenway Park, 13-10, predicting a win for the incumbent Democrats. Two days later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won re-election over Republican Governor Alf Landon of Kansas.

I am a Redskins fan. They play the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight, at home at FedEx Field. It should be a Hobson's Choice for me. Either the 'Skins lose or Obama loses.

But not to worry. Recent history has refuted this football augur. Again from Snopes.com:

Reality finally trumped coincidence in 2004: Despite the Green Bay Packers' 28-14 defeat of the Redskins at the latter's home field on 31 October, presaging a victory for Democratic challenger John Kerry in upcoming the presidential election, two days later incumbent President George W. Bush was re-elected, breaking the Redskins' predictive pattern.

Go Redskins!

[UPDATE 2008.11.03: The Washington Redskins lose to Pittsburgh Steelers 23-6. So, there's a 97% chance that Republicans and John McCain will lose the presidential election.]