Exploring the “Ted Cruz curse” after Texas Democrats introduce bill to ban him from CFP visits

Democrats in Texas have reportedly proposed an unexpected resolution that would ban Republican US Senator Ted Cruz from attending any game in the College Football Playoff. Harris County Democratic precinct chairs Charles Kuffner and Bill Kelly are behind the bill, and Kuffner announced it via Off the Kuff, calling it "one of the more pressing matters that we face at this time."

But, what is the "Ted Cruz Curse" for Texas' college sports teams?

What is the "Ted Cruz Curse"?

There are many apparent "curses" involving celebrities and important people attending sporting events. The most famous example of this is the "Drake Curse," where every team that Drake announced he was betting on lost.

The Ted Cruz curse is of a similar nature to the Drake curse. Democrats have given numerous examples of the times when the Texas Senator has attended games with college teams from the Lone Star State involved only for them to lose.

Some notable examples of this have been pointed out by Charles Kuffner. Kuffner pinpoints moments such as the Texas Longhorns losing to the Washington Huskies in the 2024 Sugar Bowl and nine other occasions where Cruz attended games. Kuffner reports the record for Texas-based teams is 1-10 when he is in attendance.

Expanding on this, Bill Kelly, the other co-chair of the Harris County Democratic Party, said the following:

"The 9 scariest words for any college fan to hear are ‘I’m Ted Cruz and I’m coming to your game.' Republicans, Democrats, and Independents – hell even fans from Lubbock to Houston — can all agree that when your college team is playing, Ted Cruz is the absolute last person you want to see.”

They believe that the best way to stop this curse from happening is to stop (by law) Ted Cruz from attending these games.

In reality, these things are mere coincidences, and any resolution will have to go through numerous committees before the Texas State Assembly would even consider a vote on the matter.

Even if it somehow gets to the floor in Austin (and this is extremely unlikely), it would likely be struck down solely due to the large number of Republicans in the Assembly.

Is the Ted Cruz ban another example of politicians trying to curry favor via college football?

This is not the only time politicians have tried to get involved with college football, with many believing they are attempting to gain political momentum. At the end of last year, a politician from the state of Ohio intended to make a law that would essentially ban the Michigan Wolverines from planting their flag at Ohio Stadium.

This was in response to the drama that ensued after the Wolverines did this during their win over the Buckeyes a week beforehand. However, this bill was panned on social media and by other elected officials, and is now all but dead. One would expect the Ted Cruz ban to go the same way.