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Nervous Chicago Cubs fans need not sweat about Wednesday night's decisive playoff game. The Back to the Future franchise has foretold your victory.

Um, right...?

Wrong. Despite what sports-radio callers are spouting, and Netizens are noting, Back to the Future Part II, in which Michael J. Fox's time-traveling Marty McFly gets zapped into the early 21st century, does not predict a Cubs World Series win in 2003.

All together, Cub Nation: Curses!

According to urban-legends expert David Mikkelson, of Snopes.com, the would-be Back to the Future-Cubs prophecy is a variation of a Back to the Future-Florida Marlins rumor that surfaced in 1997.

"It's coming back," Mikkelson said. "It's been upgraded to a rumor involving the Cubs."

In the Marlins version, told and retold across the Internet six years ago, it was said that in Part II, Marty McFly's nemesis Biff, played by Thomas F. Wilson, uttered an "obscure line," declaring "Florida is going to win the World Series in 1997."

Part II was released in 1989. Florida got its first Major League Baseball
team, the Marlins, in 1993. And, lo and behold, in 1997, the Florida Marlins won the World Series.

"Scary, huh?" went one Internet posting, as cited by Snopes.com.

But as Snopes, and others pointed out, there wasn't anything scary about it. For one thing, Biff never uttered the "obscure line." For another thing, the movie never forecasted baseball glory for Florida.

It forecasted baseball glory for Chicago.

"Here's some Cubs trivia," goes one recent Internet newsgroup posting (on a Hanson fan board, no less). "In one of the Back to the Future movies, Doc [Christopher Lloyd] predicts that the Cubs will win the World Series in 2003...Winning is in the cards my friends."

Not quite.

In Part II, McFly is transported to 2015. Once there, he sees a sports
headline projected on a souped-up, Times Square-like billboard.

"Cubs win the World Series...?!" McFly says. "Against Miami...?!"

This October, of course, the Cubs are facing the Miami-based Marlins. But that's where the similarities end. The year is not 2015. The Cubs are not playing the Marlins in the World Series (they're playing them in the
National League Championship Series). And the fishy Marlins are not represented by an alligator, the mascot that flashes on the screen in front of McFly.

Other than that...

Not to rain on Cubs fans already rained-on parade, but the Back to the Future movies are, as Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper pointed out, not to be confused with Nostradamus, the famed French seer who's not
exactly batting a thousand himself.

"I don't know if there's going to be a holographic Jaws version in 2015,"
Mikkelson says, referring to another ad that McFly sees in Part II.

The only sure bet is that Wednesday night's Game Seven--sending the winner to the World Series, and the loser on vacation--will be another blessing for Fox.

Tuesday's game, in which the Cubs went from five outs away from their first Series in 58 years, to five runs behind, was the most-watched prime-time show of the night, according to overnight estimates. By one count, 68 percent of all televisions in use in Chicago were tuned to Fox's coverage.
Through Sunday, ratings for the network's baseball playoff coverage were up 34 percent from last year.

Mikkelson, a Los Angeles Dodgers fan who'll be rooting for the Cubs to win Wednesday, expects another surge--in Chicago-style rumors.

"Maybe it'll catch on," he says of the Part II-Cubs urban legend.
"Particularly if they win tonight."

"It's coming back," Mikkelson said. "It's been upgraded to a rumor involving the Cubs."

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The "Back to the Future" Prophecies On The Cubs
	Nervous Chicago Cubs fans need not sweat about Wednesday night's decisive playoff game. The Back to the Future franchise has foretold your victory. Um, right...? Wrong. Despite what sports-radio callers are spouting, and Netizens are noting, Back to the Future Part II, in which Michael J. Fox's time-traveling Marty McFly gets zapped into the early 21st century, does not predict a Cubs World Series win in 2003. All together, Cub Nation: Curses! According to urban-legends expert David Mikkelson, of Snopes.com, the would-be Back to the Future-Cubs prophecy is a variation of a Back to the Future-Florida Marlins rumor that surfaced in 1997. "It's coming back," Mikkelson said. "It's been upgraded to a rumor involving the Cubs." In the Marlins version, told and retold across the Internet six years ago, it was said that in Part II, Marty McFly's nemesis Biff, played by Thomas F. Wilson, uttered an "obscure line," declaring "Florida is going to win the World Series in 1997." Part II was released in 1989. Florida got its first Major League Baseball team, the Marlins, in 1993. And, lo and behold, in 1997, the Florida Marlins won the World Series. "Scary, huh?" went one Internet posting, as cited by Snopes.com. But as Snopes, and others pointed out, there wasn't anything scary about it. For one thing, Biff never uttered the "obscure line." For another thing, the movie never forecasted baseball glory for Florida. It forecasted baseball glory for Chicago. "Here's some Cubs trivia," goes one recent Internet newsgroup posting (on a Hanson fan board, no less). "In one of the Back to the Future movies, Doc [Christopher Lloyd] predicts that the Cubs will win the World Series in 2003...Winning is in the cards my friends." Not quite. In Part II, McFly is transported to 2015. Once there, he sees a sports headline projected on a souped-up, Times Square-like billboard. "Cubs win the World Series...?!" McFly says. "Against Miami...?!" This October, of course, the Cubs are facing the Miami-based Marlins. But that's where the similarities end. The year is not 2015. The Cubs are not playing the Marlins in the World Series (they're playing them in the National League Championship Series). And the fishy Marlins are not represented by an alligator, the mascot that flashes on the screen in front of McFly. Other than that... Not to rain on Cubs fans already rained-on parade, but the Back to the Future movies are, as Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper pointed out, not to be confused with Nostradamus, the famed French seer who's not exactly batting a thousand himself. "I don't know if there's going to be a holographic Jaws version in 2015," Mikkelson says, referring to another ad that McFly sees in Part II. The only sure bet is that Wednesday night's Game Seven--sending the winner to the World Series, and the loser on vacation--will be another blessing for Fox. Tuesday's game, in which the Cubs went from five outs away from their first Series in 58 years, to five runs behind, was the most-watched prime-time show of the night, according to overnight estimates. By one count, 68 percent of all televisions in use in Chicago were tuned to Fox's coverage. Through Sunday, ratings for the network's baseball playoff coverage were up 34 percent from last year. Mikkelson, a Los Angeles Dodgers fan who'll be rooting for the Cubs to win Wednesday, expects another surge--in Chicago-style rumors. "Maybe it'll catch on," he says of the Part II-Cubs urban legend. "Particularly if they win tonight." "It's coming back," Mikkelson said. "It's been upgraded to a rumor involving the Cubs."

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