'Back to the Future' predicted this World Series, sort of
The classic flick predicted the end of the Chicago Cubs' epic pennant drought, and, possibly, Donald Trump's rise on the political scene.
- Finalist for the Nesta Tipping Point prize and a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
We're one year on from "Back to the Future Day," which marked the date Marty McFly visited the future in the 1989 classic "Back to the Future: Part II." The film predicted flat screens and drones, and today it seems one more of its many forecasts for the future is on the verge of coming true.
That is, if the Chicago Cubs win Tuesday against the Cleveland Indians in the first game of the World Series and go on to sweep the whole thing like they do in the movie.
OK, so the film predicted the Cubs would get their first World Series championship in over a century in 2015 against the Miami Gators, a team that doesn't exist. But when predicting the future almost three decades out you deserve some credit for just getting really close.
While the Miami Gators aren't a thing today, the Miami Marlins are very real. There was no Major League Baseball franchise in Miami at the time the movie was released, so that's actually another prediction it got right. Of course, the Marlins and Cubs are both National League teams, so it's technically impossible they'd be facing each other in a World Series. But why nitpick?
The Cubs have gone 71 years since winning a pennant and 108 years since winning the World Series. Predicting the end of a championship drought that spans generations within a year is pretty impressive. It remains to be seen if the World Series Championship part of the prediction will come to pass.
We should probably also revisit one other parallel between the movie and events that have shaped reality since "Back to the Future Day" last year. Yes, I'm talking about the rise of current Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump, whom "Back to the Future" writer Bob Gale acknowledges inspired the character Biff Tannen.
Tannen isn't a political candidate in the movie's fictional 2015, but he has parlayed his riches into significant political influence in Hill Valley. Following the charges of sexual assault and harassment leveled against Trump in recent weeks, some of the scenes of Biff Tannen acting like a lout with women in the movie suddenly hit a little too close to home.
I'll be happy for the Cubs if the movie's prediction for their long-awaited World Series appearance comes true, and I'll be even happier when the election is done, but I'm still more eagerly anticipating all those flying cars and ubiquitous hoverboards.
