This isn’t the first time politicians have wagered over a Longhorns game.
AUSTIN, Texas — There will no doubt be quite a few wagers over the Texas Longhorns game against Ohio State on Friday – and that includes one between two big-name politicians.
On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) challenged Vice President-elect JD Vance to a wager over the Longhorns vs. Buckeyes game. Cruz proposed on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the loser should bring beer and food from his home state and deliver it wearing the winning team’s jersey.
Vance, a former senator for Ohio, agreed – with a touch of shade.
“Alright which Texas ice cream should I have Ted bring when the Buckeyes win?” Vance asked on X.
The duo are taking a page out of another pair of politicians’ books. In recent years, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt have taken to social media to announce friendly wagers ahead of the big rivalry game between the Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners.
This past October, Abbott placed barbecue from Railhead Smokehouse in Fort Worth and a case of Lone Star Beer on the Longhorns’ winning. For his part, Stitt put some Oklahoma craft beer and Oklahoma-certified steaks on the line.
The Longhorns defeated the Sooners, 34-3.
The ‘Ted Cruz sports curse’
Cruz isn’t always the most welcome presence at sporting events. For the last few years in Texas, there has been a superstition brewing around Cruz’s attendance at crucial games.
The so-called “Ted Cruz curse” has stemmed from Texas teams losing important games when the senator is in the stands. Examples include when he attended the Houston Astros ALDS, which ended with an Astros loss to the Detroit Tigers, and when he attended the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff game against the Washington Huskies, which ended in a loss for Texas.
Cruz’s opponent in last November’s election, former NFL linebacker and congressman Colin Allred, even centered an ad around the “#CruzCurse.” And ahead of the Longhorns’ Oct. 19 game against Georgia, one UT fan went so far as to create a Change.org petition to deter Cruz’s attendance.
“Ted Cruz is just plain bad luck,” the petition said in part. “Last year, his downright sinister energy kept Texas from making it to the NCAA Football Championship, and that’s a risk we cannot take again.”
It’s not clear if Cruz attended that game against Georgia, but the Bulldogs did defeat the Longhorns, 30-15.