Longhorns fans petition to keep Ted Cruz out of major football game fearing his 'sports curse'

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Fans of the Texas Longhorns college football team have started a petition to ban Ted Cruz from games because they fear the Republican senator's presence would hurt their chances of victory.

The online petition says the U.S. senator is “just unlucky” and claims his “downright sinister energy” previously kept the Longhorns from making it to the NCAA Football Championship.

“This is a risk we cannot take again,” says the change.org petition.

“The Longhorns deserve a season of GREATNESS! We are the best and most passionate fans here in the heart of Texas. We can't let an outsider like Cr*z, someone who didn't even go to UT, root for any team he thinks will make the Texans like him, take over Texas sports Longhorn ruined.”

The petition, which seeks to ban the Republican for life from all Texas Longhorn sporting events, has garnered nearly 1,500 signatures since it began on Sept. 29.

“Please don’t ruin the winning streak of the only good sports teams in Texas (currently),” commented one petition signer. Another added: “I hadn't signed a petition in probably half a decade until I came across this petition, a cause that is very close to my heart.”

“No Cruz curse for the Longhorns!!!” wrote another.

This comes after increasing talk about the so-called “Ted Cruz curse,” which is based on the notion that Texas-based teams appear to lose important games when he is present.

The superstition grew recently after the Houston Astros lost ALDS to the Detroit Tigers with Cruz in the stands. He also attended the Longhorns' College Football Playoff game against the Washington Huskies, in which Texas lost 37-31.

Cruz's opponent in the upcoming Senate race, former NFL linebacker and congressman Colin Allred, even spun a political ad around the alleged “#CruzCurse.”

Saturday's game is one of the biggest of the season for the Longhorns as they face Georgia, currently ranked fifth.

Cruz is no stranger to controversy and unfortunate nicknames, having taken a trip to Cancun in February 2021 during a severe winter storm that killed 246 Texans and left millions without power or running water.

The scandal, which earned the senator the nickname “Cancún Cruz,” intensified as Cruz tried to justify his actions by claiming he was just trying to be “a good father” to his daughters.

During the 2016 Republican presidential primary, eventual winner Donald Trump called the Texan “Lyin' Ted Cruz,” insulted his wife and suggested that his late father was somehow involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Cruz supported Trump after he won the nomination.

The Independent asked Cruz for comment.