2017 FIFA Confederations Cup is about to kick off and just two days before the main event Russia held an official Press Conference to introduce fortune-telling cat Achilles. Judging from the video Ruptly posted on Youtube, he ain't too happy about all the fuss.
The psychic cat is going to predict the winners we are told (in Russian) so we have to run with the storyline presented by RT's World Cup Russia.
2017 meet psychic cat who will predict FIFA Confederations Cup outcomes
RT tells us that Achilles lives and works at the St. Petersburg’s iconic Hermitage Museum where his day to day duties include protecting exhibits from rodents.
The official event to announce his psychic role in the 2017 FIFA Confederation Cup included the guest appearance of Zenit St. Petersburg forward Alexander Kerzhakov. However, Achilles the so-called fortune teller cat remained unimpressed.
His facial expressions were just -- "Nah! leave me alone, just go away, please! Now would be nice!"
Where did the Russians find a psychic cat?
Well, like many psychic stories, Achilles happened sort of accidentally. It turns out that he was chosen not for his prowess or historical accuracy, but because he is quite deaf.
Hermitage official Maria Halttunen told reporters another reason why he was deemed to be the most psychic cat at the museum is because he is castrated and "isn’t turned by members of the opposite sex." This might account for his grumpy demeanor, apart from the fact that he had no choice in the matter.
Predictions for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup
Sports pundits and betting agencies are all putting out their predictions for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup outcomes. Across the world, footie lovers are reading the sports pages and scratching their heads while deciding to go with outsiders and risk all or just play it safe and put their money on the favorites.
If this describes you then why not go with grumpy cat?
His choice will be made by choosing which food bowl to eat from. RT reported that Achilles "will be offered two bowls to eat from, which will be decorated with the Russian and New Zealand flags. According to the organizers’ idea, the country marked on the bowl of Achilles’ choice should claim victory."
Achilles can be considered to be clean.
There will be no taint of cheating or insider information as he is, if you recall, deaf and so far he has demonstrated no ability to understand the written word. It sure beats tossing a coin to pick your winner at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.
This is not the first time an animal has been used to predict sporting outcomes. Back in 2010, the FIFA World Cup predictor was an octopus named Paul.
The FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 will be hosted in Russia and runs from June 17 to 2 July.
