All The Times The Simpsons Correctly Predicted the Super Bowl

For more than 30 years, The Simpsons has been one of the most beloved TV shows of all time, recognized for its humor, heart, and ability to hold a mirror up to society, reflecting the world back to audiences through its zany lens. Since debuting in 1989, the series has always found a way to stay relevant, thanks in no small part to the way its creators weave pop culture references into its storylines. It seemed that there was no cultural event that was safe from the Simpsons’ hilarious wrath – Hollywood blockbusters, political controversies, celebrity scandals and more were all targets for the show’s pointed jokes.

The Simpsons has become so ingrained into our cultural fabric that it’s developed a knack for predicting the future. Over the years, viewers have taken note of many instances in which a plot point in an episode came true in real life later on. Some of these include Facetime, Donald Trump becoming president, and the mass of the Higgs-Boson particle (also known as the “God particle”), among many others. One other important cultural area that The Simpsons has proven itself to be quite prophetic is that of football, specifically several Super Bowls, as we’ll point out below.

The Simpsons‘ First Streak

One of the most famous examples of The Simpsons predicting a Super Bowl outcome was in the 1992 episode, “Lisa the Greek.” Here, Lisa is bothered by Homer for not expressing interest in any of her hobbies. Marge recommends Lisa try showing interest in something Homer loves, which happens to be football. Lisa demonstrates an uncanny ability to predict the winner of football games, much to Homer’s delight. The two bond over their thief football time together, but Lisa soon learns that Homer was only spending time with her to win bets. For the upcoming Super Bowl, she picks the team she secretly wants to lose, as this would mean that Homer would lose the bet but win her love back, resulting in one of the series’ most touching finales.

“Lisa the Greek” first aired on January 23, 1992, leading up to Super Bowl XXVI which saw the Washington Commanders (then called the Washington Reskins) take on the Buffalo Bills. In the episode, Lisa predicted a win for Washington, which soon happened in real life. That alone is impressive, but what makes that episode even more iconic is that it continued to accurately forecast the outcomes of the next three Super Bowls. You see, the show’s creators updated the episode with newly-recorded dialogue to reflect that year’s Super Bowl contenders, and each time they did so, the team that won in the episode would win in real life. That means that The Simpsons accurately predicted the results of Super Bowl XXVII (Dallas Cowboys defeating Buffalo Bills in 1993), Super Bowl XXVIII (Dallas Cowboys defeating Buffalo Bills again in 1994), and Super Bowl XXIX (San Francisco 49ers defeating San Diego Chargers in 1995).

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The Simpsons Score a Partial Prediction

“Sunday, Cruddy Sunday” is another Super Bowl-themed episode of The Simpsons. This one features Homer, Bart, and several other Springfield residents heading to Miami, Florida, to catch the big game in person. Unfortunately, the tickets they were given turned out to be counterfeit, forcing them to sneak into the stadium. The episode is packed with football-related figures, including then-NFL broadcaster John Madden and such players as Troy Aikman, Rosey Grier, and Dan Marino.

While “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday” is less about predicting the outcome of the Super Bowl and more about poking fun at the Super Bowl experience, it did accurately forecast a future event. The winning team in the episode – which isn’t named – sports uniforms that are awfully similar to those of the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers would eventually make it to Super Bowl LIV squaring off against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020, even in Miami. However, this prediction is only partially true, as the Chiefs were the winning team for that game.

The Simpsons Predict a Super Bowl Halftime Show

In the season 23 episode, “Lisa Goes Gaga,” Lady Gaga makes a cameo as herself, visiting Springfield to perform at an elaborate halftime-style show. In her performance, Lady Gaga dons an extravagant outfit and is suspended through the air, utilizing the sort of outrageous choreography and spectacle that typify most Super Bowl halftime shows.

Up until this point, Lady Gaga had never performed at the Super Bowl, but there were rampant rumors that she was in talks to do so. Again, this ended up happening in 2017 when she not only appeared in that year’s Super Bowl halftime show but performed in a show that was unusually similar to that depicted in The Simpsons nearly five years prior. The costume she wore was oddly reminiscent of that seen in the show, and she even did the aerial stunt, as well.

What do you think about The Simpsons and their Super Bowl predictions? Let us know in the comments!