Texas Dems want to ban "cursed" Ted Cruz from college playoffs

State of play: Cruz likes watching live sports but sometimes draws the ire of die-hard fans who believe he's a curse on Texas teams in crucial moments.

• He was famously in attendance for the University of Houston's defeat in the NCAA men's basketball national championship game in April.
• He was also there to witness the Astros drop Game 1 of the 2023 American League Championship Series to the Texas Rangers, who went on to win it all.

Driving the news: Citing several examples, Harris County Democratic Party precinct chairs Charles Kuffner and Bill Kelly proposed a resolution on Wednesday to ban the senator from playoff games.

What they're saying: "The nine scariest words for any college fan to hear are 'I'm Ted Cruz, and I'm coming to your game,'" Kelly, a UH alum, said in a statement.

• "Republicans, Democrats and independents ... can all agree that when your college team is playing, Ted Cruz is the absolute last person you want to see."

Yes, but: To Cruz's credit, the Astros did win one game he attended: Game 4 of the ALCS in 2022 against the Yankees.

• He also recently took his daughter to an Astros game that Houston won handily.

The other side: Cruz's camp, defending his love of live sporting events, said the premise of a "Cruz curse" is "dishonest and partisan clickbait."

• "Senator Cruz has been attending Texas sports games his entire life," spokesperson Macarena Martinez told Axios. "When they win, he's there. When they lose, he's there. When Texas Democrats lose, he's almost always there."