World Cup Predictions: Paul the Octopus Has Competition from a Parakeet

Aside from all the soccer players, it would seem that Paul the octopus is the breakout celebrity of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The marine medium has taken search engines like Yahoo! and Google by storm, and is sharing primetime news slots with Lindsay Lohan and LeBron James. With a perfect record on how the German team would perform, the little octopus seems to have a clairvoyance that sports writers don't. He's even already predicted that Spain will take it all in tomorrow's World Cup final against the Netherlands. However, it looks like the little octopus has run into some competition, as a parakeet in Singapore has taken a bite out of the psychic pet limelight.

Not to be overshadowed by the world-famous octopus, Mani the parakeet's prediction came just a few hours before Paul's on Friday, July 9. According to Mani's master M. Munipayan, the psychic parakeet has a perfect record just like his marine counterpart in Germany's Oberhausen. The winged mystic reportedly picked all the winners of the quarterfinals and also chose Spain over Germany in last Wednesday's semifinal match. However unlike Paul, Mani the parakeet has predicted that the Dutch will be the ones taking home their first World Cup title in tomorrow's match.

Sports fans are now left with the age old question: who is more trustworthy, an intuitive octopus or a supernatural parrot? Given the recent culinary death threats directed at Paul, I would have to say the marine creature has a lot more to lose if the stars are not aligned in his favor. The world is just going to have to wait and see as an epic battle for the 2010 World Cup title takes place in South Africa tomorrow.