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How Texas A&M Overcame a ‘Curse’ With Win Over Notre Dame

One Texas politician has historically been bad news for teams he supports.
DJ Burton|
Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) runs the ball as Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Tae Johnson (9) defends during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium.
Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) runs the ball as Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Tae Johnson (9) defends during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

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Texas A&M Aggies

Texas Senator Ted Cruz took office in 2013, and in 2018, sports fans started noticing he seemed to have an impact on their favorite teams’ games.

Fans took notice that whenever Cruz was in attendance, their teams would perform poorly. Starting in 2018, the “Ted Cruz Curse” was born. Since then, sports fans would groan upon learning Cruz would be in attendance and supporting their team, as it almost certainly meant a loss.

When Texas A&M marched into South Bend and won a thriller over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to establish itself as a serious contender early in the 2025 season, the Aggies overcame the Ted Cruz Curse and became the first team to do so in recent memory.

The History of the Ted Cruz Curse

Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz stands before the game between Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Texas A&M Aggies at Notre Dame Stadium. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Cruz has specifically terrorized Texas college football teams. He placed a bet on the Texas Longhorns, effectively dooming the team in the Cotton Bowl last season. He also supported Texas A&M against Notre Dame in 2024 and had the Aggies over the Longhorns in 2024.

Cruz’s curse extends beyond college football, too. He terrorized Texas Tech basketball when he supported the Red Raiders in their loss against Virginia, he supported the Houston Cougars when they lost to the Florida Gators in the National Championship this past season, was in attendance for the Rockets’ Game 7 loss to the Golden State Warriors, and even brought his bad juju to the Dallas Cowboys when they were blown out in the Wildcard round of the playoffs by the Green Bay Packers in 2024.

The only team that seems to be immune to the Ted Cruz Curse are the Houston Astros. He has reportedly attended every Astros playoff game, witnessing championships in 2017 and 2022.

What started out as a funny joke has quickly become a reality for Texas sports fans. Anytime Cruz is spotted at a team’s event, fans begin letting out groans because they know what’s to come.

The curse had gotten so bad that Texas lawmakers made an effort to ban Cruz from local sporting events and avoiding the curse altogether, an attempt that clearly did not come to fruition.

"The nine scariest words for any college fan to hear are 'I'm Ted Cruz, and I'm coming to your game,'" Lawmaker and Houston alum Bill Kelly 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."

As Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Houston look poised to be in some big games down the stretch, we will see if the curse is officially lifted or the A&M victory was just an outlier.

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DJ Burton
DJ BURTON

DJ Burton is a journalist from Kingwood, Texas. He is a credentialed writer for Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He graduated from Texas A&M with a journalism major and a sport management minor. Before attending A&M, Burton played offensive line for two seasons at Hiram College in northeast Ohio, where he studied sport management. Burton brings experience covering football, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball. He also served as a senior sports writer for A&M’s student newspaper, The Battalion.

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