A Word on the Worthlessness of Pregame Predictions (Yankees over Red Sox Edition)

You’re a smart person, so you already know this. But it bears repeating every once in awhile. Pregame predictions are largely worthless. No one really knows anything. Forecasting the future is fraught with peril. If we knew what would happen before it happened, sports wouldn’t be any fun. It’s the unpredictability and unscripted nature that we come back for again and again.

Predictions exist for a few reasons. First, they are fun and get the anticipatory juices flowing. Second, they are a point of pride for people to beat their chests in victory after getting one correct. And finally, because they fill airtime and content space in the 24/7 sports media machine.

So we get stuff like this: a compilation of woefully wrong talking heads divining a New York victory over Boston in the ALDS.

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

These clips and montages are enjoyable. Fans of teams that were doubted love nothing more than proving the haters wrong. So often they are used as evidence to prove that the experts didn’t — or don’t — know what they’re talking about.

Duh. That’s the dirty little secret.

Pick a game, or series, or season. Your uninformed prediction isn’t that different from those who study the facts with diligence. That’s the very nature of sports, and it’s beautiful.

So, sure, keep prognosticating and consuming prognostication. But know they don’t mean anything, aren’t typically personal, and are destined to age poorly half the time.