Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) didn't just receive a drubbing at the polls on Tuesday night; he was also raked over the coals online on Tuesday for attempting to invoke the seminal basketball film Hoosiers.
As Gawker reported, the Tea Party lawmaker was campaigning in a Knightstown, Indiana high school gymnasium when he attempted to re-enact a scene from the film, asking a staffer to measure how high one of the basketball rims was -- an homage to a famous scene in the movie where coach Nathan Dale (Gene Hackman) inspires his team.
"The amazing thing is that basketball ring here in Indiana, it's the same height as it is in New York City and every other place in this country," Cruz said, botching the most basic of basketball terms. "And there is nothing that Hoosiers cannot do."
Cruz, who would go on to lose all five Republican Party primaries during the evening, was also mocked by Twitter users, as seen below:
There's one thing you don't f*ck up in Indiana, and that's basketball references #BasketballRing https://t.co/XIFGSOIJT1— Jeff, God of Biscuits (@Jeff, God of Biscuits)1461721154.0
Ted Cruz called a basketball hoop a "basketball ring" and that still doesn't crack the top 50 for dumbest things said this election— Jay Smith (@Jay Smith)1461720484.0
Wow, @tedcruz referred to a hoop at the Hoosier gym as a "basketball ring". As a Texan, I apologize for the monster we created.— オタク Richie The Drift God (@オタク Richie The Drift God)1461720318.0
Basketball ring? My God Indiana if you needed a reason NOT to vote for @tedcruz #footballBars— Ryan Rintoul (@Ryan Rintoul)1461720735.0
Ted Cruz called a basketball hoop a "basketball ring" in tonight's speech https://t.co/cpLmoJLS6x— Anthony Zurcher (@Anthony Zurcher)1461720820.0
@tedcruz calls a basketball hoop a basketball ring. Can't be president. https://t.co/bBtbrlrWwq— Colin Capps (@Colin Capps)1461719924.0
Ted Cruz has ruined the sport of basketball forever. I will now go cover NASCAR or something else terrible https://t.co/KUyNe9Bvwr— Jared Weiss (@Jared Weiss)1461721269.0
