DALLAS — It's the Year of the Tiger -- according to the Chinese zodiac, sure, but also at least one tiger cub at the Dallas Zoo.
Six-month-old Sumatran tiger cub Sumini was tasked Friday morning with choosing a winner in the upcoming Super Bowl LVI matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams, and the totally unbiased and critically endangered animal wasted little time in selecting the Bengals.
Seems Sumini is unimpressed by the fact that locals Matthew Stafford and Von Miller are lining up for the Rams on Super Bowl Sunday.
The dozens in attendance at her selection, on the other hand, were audibly ecstatic over her charming choice.
Sumini came to the decision by opting for the Bengals-themed pile of "bloodsicles" (read: frozen pieces of meat) and papier-mâché footballs that zoo staff had laid out for her alongside some Rams-styled ones for her late-morning snack.
When she was born on Aug. 2, 2021, the 50-pound Joe Burrow fan became the first tiger cub to be birthed at the zoo since 1948. Just four months later in December, the zoo welcomed two more cubs of the same species, boy-girl twins named Rudi and Nety.
If Sumini's selection of the Bengals as Super Bowl champs comes to pass, the team at the Dallas Zoo would obviously be thrilled.
But the staff at the Fort Worth Zoo? Not so much.
On Thursday morning, the Fort Worth Zoo hosted a similar stunt, tasking their own animal infant with picking the winner in Sunday's big game -- and getting a different result.
Given the choice between two differently designed balls to play with in its pen, the zoo's four-month old and 600-pound Asian elephant Brazos quickly chose the Rams-themed one.
If the Bengals win on Sunday, it will be the eighth straight year that the Fort Worth Zoo's animals have inaccurately predicted the Super Bowl winner.