Paul the Oracle Octopus’ Perfect World Cup Predictions
Posted by cebloggerJul 12
A blogger friend of mine sent a twitter message to me about the oracle octopus and his prediction of Germany winning against England. Why in the world is this sucker doing soccer predictions? I held on to my belief that England will beat Germany. But Paul was right.
Who is Paul the Oracle Octopus? Octopuses are known to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates. Paul is a common octopus which was hatched from an egg at the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth, England, then moved to a tank at one of the chain’s centres in Oberhausen, Germany. His name derives from the title of a poem by the German children’s writer Boy Lornsen: Der Tintenfisch Paul Oktopus. Paul is now a resident of Germany, and a famous one too.
We don’t know what led his handlers to make him predict soccer games, but his newfound profession started in the Euro 2008. He made predictions of all of Germany’s game. He correctly predicted 4 out of 6. He failed though when he picked Germany to win over Spain in the Euro final. Maybe he was an amateur then, and needed some time to perfect his skills.
But for this World Cup, he was perfect 8 for 8. Fans were actually divided when he predicted that Spain will triumph over Germany. German fans hoped he was wrong. Spain was ecstatic. But a Carles Puyol header proved that he was right. Then there were death threats – sushi octopus, calamari, or whatever dish that can be made out of him. The prime minister of Spain even jokingly suggested that he’ll send protection.
Paul also got it right when he predicted Spain to win over Netherlands. A parakeet in Singapore predicted the opposite. I was hoping that the parakeet was right. But Spain actually won in extra time. That’s another plus point for Paul.
So, this Paul the oracle octopus’ fame had reached unimaginable heights. We’ll see if his flawless run will continue in the 2012 Euro.
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Nakakatawa naman yan parakeet-come-lately na yan. Late entrance na, sumablay pa ang diskarte.
I was originally rooting for England. And yes, I dismissed Paul’s prediction of a Germany win over England. That distressed me a lot.
But maybe not too deeply, after all I’m a new fan of soccer. I’ve no deep seated loyalties. With England’s exit, I’d been on a rebound – a fan in need of a surrogate mother team.
So, I switched allegiance to Germany – bewitched no doubt by their fascinating attacking game. It’s helped too that they have an oracle on their side.
Hated Paul once again when it correctly predicted a win for Spain over Germany. Crap.
Can’t afford to be a fool several times over. In the finals, I sided with Paul and rooted for Spain. I’m glad I did. Because Paul picked a new World Cup champion that knows how it is to really play a beautiful game.
Paul has kept me interested in following World Cup. Who knows in four years time, I’d no longer need him to point me in the right direction towards appreciating the nuances of the game.
jan, twas like any team but spain for me. i rooted for portugal, germany and holland. but the guys beat all the odds.
the owners of paul might be enjoying the fruits of his fame right now. i wonder if there are any increases in the ticket prices of sea life centre.