Perhaps the actors assumed it was for the cameras. But, 35 years later, what Prince Akeem said in the 1988 classic comedy “Coming to America” has come true.
Eddie Murphy’s character, Prince Akeem, made a sarcastic allusion to the conclusion of a football game, which turned out to be how the Giants defeated the Packers, 24-22, at MetLife Stadium on Monday night.
“Sir, I was wondering, did you happen to catch the professional football contest on television last night?” Prince Akeem asked his boss, Cleo McDowell (played by John Amos).
“No, I didn’t,” McDowell replied.
“Oh, it was most exhilarating. The Giants of New York took on the Packers of Green Bay and in the end, the Giants triumphed by kicking an oblong ball made of pigskin through a Big H,” Akeem said. “It was a most ripping victory.”
Movies and television shows frequently foretell future events, and the 1988 film “Coming to America” did it three decades before the Packers-Giants game on Monday.
According to the New York Post, ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III made the forecast, citing the film’s realism in depicting the game held at night—a detail that is not always guaranteed.
The recent Monday night game between the Giants and Packers marked the first meeting on “Monday Night Football” for the two NFL franchises since 1983, as reported by ESPN. “Coming To America,” which predicted the outcome of the recent game, debuted five years after the 1983 matchup.
The idea that two venerable NFL clubs, the Giants and Packers, lasted 40 years without playing each other on “Monday Night Football” is described as almost incomprehensible.
On Monday night, the Giants won with a 37-yard field goal by Randy Bullock as time expired, repeating the scene predicted by Prince Akeem in “Coming to America.”
The game-winning drive was spearheaded by rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito, who guided the Giants down the field with a one-point lead. Bullock’s successful kick not only clinched the upset, but it also marked the team’s third straight victory.