The AFU and Urban Legend Archive
Movies
 back to the future predictions




From: mtepper@panix.com (Michele Tepper)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Back to the Future
Date: 15 Dec 1997 00:00:36 -0500

This person <thisperson@genie.com> wrote: >I've heard that in one of the "Back to the Future" movies there's a
>prediction that a Florida team will win the World Series in 1997. I've
>been unable to verify it. Does anybody know?

Advantage #596 of Lurking before Posting: You don't ask about a story that was handily debunked about three weeks ago and which was discussed here last only about a week and a half ago. You did, however, ask nicely, and intimate that you had attempted to do research yourself (hint: www.dejanews.com), so here you are. Interestingly, a quick trip to Deja suggests this legend is showing up all over the net, so if it has any staying power past spring training maybe the archive could make room for the info reprinted below.

-----Begin archived post----- 

Subject:      Re: Future baseball

From:         Richard White <white@csee.usf.edu>

Date:         1997/11/29

Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.96.971129150049.19270A-100000@grad> Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban

On Sat, 29 Nov 1997, Tony Lima wrote:

> In an obscure line you hear young Bif say "Florida is going
> to win the World Series in 1997, yeah right"
>
> This movie came out in 1987, ten years before the Marlins
> did actually win the world series. And what's really weird
> is that Florida didn't even have a baseball team in 1987.

And what's rilly rilly weird, is that my copy of the movie doesn't have that line by Biff it it anywhere (or by anyone). No mention is made of any 1997 team in any of the three BTTF movies.

What *is* in the second movie is a scene (in 2015) where the 1985 Marty McFly sees an outdoor largescreen broadcast announcing the Cubs beat Miami in the World Series (in 2015). The guy beside him is surprised the Cubs won. Marty is surprised that Miami has a team.

In hindsight (which is by far the easier way to scrutinize these kinds of things), such a prediction by the movie isn't necessarily so astounding. Florida has long had a strong minor league presence, not to mention Spring Training <TM>, and since Miami already had a major league football team, it doesn't take a lot of imagination to suppose they might eventually get a major league baseball team.

What would have been a riskier prediction is that Miami would get a major league hockey team. But then, even the United Arab Emirates has its own hockey league[1]. Never mind.

Richard.

[1] OK, so the Dubai ice arena only seats 4000, and it isn't the NHL, but it's still hockey in the Persian Gulf. They don't just race camels there anymore.

-----end archived post-----

Michele "Hello? McFLY?" Tepper

-- 

Michele Tepper         They need to bring me photos of a woman with
mtepper@panix.com      chicken shrapnel in her face before I'll give the
& misha@umich.edu      story much credence.     -- Harry MF Teasley



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