An Unlikely Prediction

On February 2, 2017 I performed a predictive tarot reading on the outcome of Super Bowl 51 (aka “Super Bowl LI”). For many in the country, the New England Patriots were the “black hat” contender because of the “Deflategate” scandal, even though the football pundits considered them a convincing favorite to win. One of the scoring scenarios I came up with based on the numeric values of the cards was a 26-26 tie at the end of regulation play, with a sudden-death overtime that the Patriots would most likely win by a 3-point field goal. I wasn’t aware that there had never been such an overtime situation in the history of the game, I was just “reading the cards.” As we all know now, the game reached a 28-28 tie with the Patriots winning by a 6-point touchdown in overtime.

Sometimes the tarot dances around the truth (I couldn’t have been more wrong about the second-quarter outlook), but in the end the cards won’t be denied. The fourth quarter certainly looked like an “Emperor moment” for Tom Brady and the Patriots, although the Falcon’s late rally didn’t materialize, and my “tie game” prediction was off the money only to the extent that “26” is an unlikely total given standard scoring increments (touchdowns, extra-point kicks, 2-point conversions, field goals, safeties), which I did acknowledge in the original prediction. Although I’m from New Hampshire, football isn’t my game and I had no partisan interest in which team won; I didn’t even tune in the game until the last two minutes of regulation. But I do love it when the cards speak truth.

Here is the original prediction as it was posted on the Aeclectic Tarot forum on the the Thursday before the game.

“I have a conflict-resolution spread that is perfect for showing the two sides in a confrontation. It consists of two 3-card lines, one for each adversary, placed one above the other in a head-to-head “face-off” (sounds like the first three quarters of a football game, although the analogy I used when creating it was a boxing match). Each line is drawn from a separate deck so all cards are in play for both antagonists. A fourth, decisive card is created for each line by calculating a quintessence from the other three (I include court cards and subtract reversed values). A final card I call the Arbiter is only used if the two sets of cards don’t favor either side; I draw it from a third deck.

I wanted a more spartan look to the spread so I used two of my TdM decks, the Fournier and the Hadar, with the Tarot Classic available for the Arbiter. I used reversals to show the possibility of turnovers (fumbles and interceptions) and setbacks like penalties and injuries. The card series were:

Falcons: 6 of Wands rx (1Q), Queen of Cups rx (2Q), Temperance rx (3Q) and quint Lovers rx (4Q)

Patriots: 6 of Coins (1Q), 9 of Swords rx (2Q), 7 of Swords (3Q) and quint Emperor (4Q).

The first quarter looks like the Patriots will open with a careful, productive ground game, while the Falcons will be more daring but might turn the ball over or incur damaging penalties. With two Sixes, the match-up looks fairly even.

The second quarter shows the possibility of aerial headaches (pass interceptions and incompletions) for the Patriots, but the Falcons seem to lose some momentum and begin playing too conservatively, so they don’t capitalize on it.

The third quarter has the Patriots moving in the air, but the 7 of Swords suggests a lot of incomplete passes as Brady tries to decipher the pass defense. The Falcons look like they will stick with a conservative offense that eats up yards and the clock. They may be thrown off-balance by the Patriots rushing game, which could force turnovers.

The fourth quarter shows the Patriots taking control of the field while the Falcons puzzle over how to pick apart the Patriots’ offensive and defensive lines. They might have to change quarterbacks.

In summary, all of the reversals in the Falcons line look like an accumulation of mistakes or bad calls, while the Patriots eventually get their game on. The Patriots’ series looks like “somebody is in charge,” while the Falcons’ series looks more “creative” but less focused. Although I didn’t need one here, I drew an Arbiter card: Temperance upright. This improves on the third quarter situation for the Falcons, perhaps showing that they will belatedly get a coordinated offense going, but it will most likely be too little, too late.

There are several ways to look at the final score. If I just use the quints, the Patriots run away with it. If I add up the values of the three numbered cards in each line (without the Queen of Cups and the quints), the Patriots take it 22 to 20 (although 22 might have to be 21 or 24 to be realistic). If I include all the numbered cards without the Queen, it comes out 26-26, with a sudden-death overtime that – given Temperance as the Arbiter – could favor the Falcons as noted above. If I add in the Queen of Cups, the Falcons have it 39-26. My best guess based on all of the above: Patriots by a field goal. (Note that all of these estimates probably have to be rounded one way or the other to agree with normal scoring increments.)

I’m not a football fan and probably won’t watch much if any of the game, and I have no clue what the odds-makers are saying.”