Boston Red Sox fans remember the “Curse of the Bambino”—which supposedly began when team owner Harry Frazee traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees to help finance a Broadway musical.
And Chicago Cubs fans won’t forget “The Billy Goat Curse,” which began in 1945 when team owner P.K. Wrigley refused to allow tavern owner William Sianis to bring his pet goat to Game 4 of the World Series against the Detroit Tigers.
Now Houston Astros fans have a new curse to worry about: “The Curse of Ted Cruz.”
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Going into Monday night’s Game 7 of the American League Championship series against the Texas Rangers, the Astros had lost four straight playoff games at Minute Maid Park with Cruz in the stands. Fans pleaded with Cruz not to jinx the team by attending Game 7, but Cruz did show up and the Astros were sent packing, losing to their cross-state rivals in a blowout defeat, 11-4.
During the game, a user named Tom posted on X, formerly known as Twitter:
Astros fans could not bear to wait for the grim finale.
And now Astros fans can be added to the lengthy list of people who hate Cruz, which includes Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle. As former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken once said: “You have to understand that I like Ted Cruz probably more than my colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz.”
Houston did manage to win Game 1 of the Division Series, 6-4, against the Minnesota Twins behind the pitching of future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander. But the Cruz Curse began in Game 2, which Houston lost 6-2. Then the Astros won the next two away games at Target Field, to win the series 3-1.
But then the Cruz Curse resumed when the Astros lost Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS to the Rangers at Minute Maid Park. And guess who was there?
Rangers fans were already getting hip to the Cruz Curse. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run against Cruz in 2024, posted on X:
The Astros then managed to sweep the next three games at Globe Life Field in Arlington to take a 3-2 lead in the series. But Cruz showed up for Game 6 on Sunday night at Minute Maid Park. Instead of clinching a World Series berth, the Astros were routed 9-2. And Cruz left the ballpark with other dejected fans.
And that prompted a wave of social media posts from Astros fans imploring Cruz to stay away from Game 7. A fan named Andrea wrote on X: “I appreciate that Ted Cruz, as a dad, loves taking his kids to the Astros games. But for the love of all things Houston, let Heidi take them! Send them with friends! It's game 7 man. We can't risk this. The whole city is asking you.”
And there was this post:
The clamor for Cruz to skip Game 7 grew so loud that Rolling Stone mixed Cruz among the pop stars. The story began:
The Houston Astros are on the brink of returning to the World Series for the fifth time in the past seven years — which means they’ve had a pretty good postseason. Ted Cruz wouldn’t know it, though, at least not based on what he’s seen in person. The Astros haven’t fared well in games the Texas senator has attended, the latest of which was their Game 6 loss to the Texas Rangers on Sunday night, forcing a seventh and deciding game on Monday. ...
A spokesperson for Cruz confirmed to Rolling Stone that he will be in attendance on Monday night, while citing several games Cruz has attended that the Astros have won dating back to the ’80s and noting that attending games is a tradition he shares with his daughter.
Rolling Stone added that this isn’t the first time Houston sports fans have been upset at Cruz for showing up to root for their teams. Cruz was courtside for the NBA Rockets’ Game 7 loss to the Golden State Warriors in 2018, during which the Rockets missed a record 27-straight three-point attempts.
So do you think Cruz listened to his constituents? Of course not. He replied with a post on X calling Rolling Stone “lying hacks.”
Of course, the Astros offset any Cruz Curse in the 2017 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers by cheating using a sign-stealing scheme, where they used a camera to decode catchers’ signs and communicate to their own team what pitch the batter should expect. The Astros did win two home games as they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in last year’s World Series.
At Game 7, Cruz tempted the fates by posing for this photo with a MAGA cultist. Did this draw the wrath of Dark Brandon to smite the Astros?
And there was even more bad karma for the Astros because another MAGA GOP extremist also attended the game: impeached Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
After the game, Houston’s City Controller Chris Hollins, a Democrat, posted on X:
So it’s wait until next year for the Astros. And next year Cancun Cruz is up for reelection. Hopefully Astros fans will remember the curse and vote for the Democratic Senate candidate.
And there was this post from another X user named Sam Alberti:
Maybe if Cruz loses, the curse on the Astros will be short-lived.
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