Football Shrink Called It

Arizona Republic - January 30, 2003

The Raiders were favored in San Diego, but the Buccaneers would win  Dr. John F. Murray, sports psychologist and creator of the Murray Performance Index, told you so.

"The Football Shrink" used the MPI, which quantifies the degree to which a team performs to perfection, to forecast that Tampa Bay would dominate Oakland in Super Bowl XXXVII. His bold prediction - the Bucs would win by at least two touchdowns - was broadcast on  more than 270 radio stations in the week leading up to the game.

"Clearly the Tampa Bay defense was superb and much better than Oakland's offense, but the Buccaneers executed better in all phases of the game and handled pressure situations better," Murray said. 

"Their performance index, which was heading upward in their previous two playoff games, continued, and so did the Raiders' trend downward." The Buccaneers' 48-21 Super Bowl victory was reflected in the MPI scores from Murray's play-by-play analysis of the game. Tampa Bay compiled a .563 index out of a possible 1.000; Oakland, .423. Murray, a 41-year-old Ph.D. licensed sport psychologist, evaluated every NFL playoff game, assigning point values on each play. A 3-yard run may earn 50 points, a sensational clutch catch 100, a play with penalty or turnover zero. Game totals range from .000 to 1.000.