There was time in America, between 1940 and 2000, when there the country’s presidential elections were more predictable and less of a white-knuckle affair.
Thanks to what’s become known as ‘The Redskins Rule,’ a trend emerged over six decades wherein Washington’s final home game before a presidential election could reliably predict the outcome: A Redskins win meant the incumbent’s party would reclaim the White House, while a loss was good news for the challenger.
But the rule has become less reliable this millennium. It failed to predict the outcomes of the 2004, 2012 and 2016 elections, although an amended version of the rule created by its originator, Elias Sports Bureau’s Steve Hirdt, claimed to account for the variations in the data set.
Still, even after the team changed its name to the Commanders, the franchise’s final home game before an election has accurately predicted more than 90 percent of presidential races since the team moved to the Beltway in 1937.
And that brings us to Sunday night in Landover, Maryland, where Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels’ last-second Hail Mary touchdown pass sealed an improbable 18-15 Commanders win over the visiting Chicago Bears, thereby giving a few Vice President Kamala Harris supporters some confidence heading into Tuesday’s election.
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels celebrates his game-winning TD pass
Josh Blackwell #39 and Elijah Hicks #22 of the Chicago Bears and Zach Ertz #86 of the Washington Commanders reach for a hail mary pass attempt during the fourth quarter
‘That Hail Mary was good news for Kamala Harris and the democrats if this trend holds true,’ one person wrote on X.
‘God, watching the Commanders game, just called Kamala,’ another added.
One Harris-supporting Bears fan consoled themselves with the rule: ‘The one silver lining: The Bears-Commanders game has predicted almost every election over the past few decades. The Commanders win predicts Kamala will win the election!’
Many more decided to poke fun at the trend.
‘THE COMMANDERS WIN,’ declared one humorous X account. ‘Huge boost for Kamala Harris as the »Commanders Rule» now indicates the incumbent party will retain control of the White House.’
One Democrat joked that he became a true believer in the Redskins Rule when Noah Brown caught Daniels’ game-winning Hail Mary.
‘me 30 seconds ago: the redskins rule is a spurious connection with absolutely no meaning,’ he wrote on X. ‘whatsoever me now: the redskins rule is an undeniable ironclad predictor of the future.’
