The Only Super Bowl 2019 Prediction You’ll Need: Fiona The Hippo

CINCINNATI, OH — Sorry, New England Patriots, but Fiona, everyone’s favorite hippopotamus, is Los Angeles Rams all the way in Sunday’s Super Bowl LIII. A video of the international hippo crush in her tank at the Cincinnati Zoo shows her swimming in front of logos for the two teams and she clearly likes the Rams better.

The now 2-year-old hippo just doesn’t like the Patriots, it seems. Last year, she picked the Philadelphia Eagles to win. So she’s 0-for-1 heading into Sunday’s game, which will be played in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

It’s fitting that Fiona has again chosen the underdog. She is one herself, defying the odds of survival when she was born six weeks prematurely on Jan. 24, 2017. Weighing only 29 pounds when she was born — about 25 pounds lighter than the lowest recorded birth weight for her species — she was the smallest hippopotamus to ever survive. The normal range for hippopotamus babies is 55-120 pounds.

Fiona was raised by humans after she refused to nurse. When she became dehydrated, sick and lethargic in February 2017, the Cincinnati Children’s nationally renowned Vascular Access Team rehydrated her. Her infirmary was close enough to smell her parents, Bibi and Henry, but her domain was human populated. Predictably, Fiona’s amazing story of survival made everyone fall in love with her.

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Two years later, Fiona's celebrity profile rivals many humans’. Besides picking Super Bowl winners, the famous hippopotomas has her own internet video show, she’s the heroine in a children’s book and in one of her most endearing video appearances, celebrated her first Christmas as the voice of Christmases past serenaded her — that of Gayla Peevey, who was 10 when she sang the novelty hit "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas."

More Fiona Love

• Hippo Mom, Daughter Fiona Get Close Again
• Fiona Photobombs Couple's Engagement
• Happy Fiona Frolics, Zoo Visitors Swoon

Photo courtesy of Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden