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Cruz messes up basketball term, Indiana cringes

Posted at 4:21 AM, Apr 27, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-27 07:51:15-04

While trying to connect with basketball-crazy voters in Indiana, Ted Cruz made a statement that can only be described as a brick.

At a rally Tuesday night in Knightstown, Indiana, in the very gym where the 1986 classic movie "Hoosiers" was filmed, Cruz mistakenly referred to one of the gym's basketball hoops as a "basketball ring."

During his speech, Cruz tried to evoke some of that "Hoosiers" pride by quoting a scene from the movie. 

In the movie, when the team made it to the state championship, many players were starstruck by the size of the gym they'd be playing in. Their coach, played by Gene Hackman, measures the court to prove a point that no matter how much bigger the gym may be, the court is still the same size as the one back home.

Tuesday night, Cruz said:

"As you all know, we're here on the Hickory basketball court. ... The amazing thing is, that basketball ring here in Indiana is the same height as it is in New York City and every other city in this country. And there is nothing that Hoosiers cannot do."

No, Ted. It's not a ring. It's a hoop or a goal. 

As it always is, the internet was calm and understanding in Cruz's mistake. No, not really.

 

 

But which is worse? Cruz's ring incident from Tuesday? Or Hillary Clinton calling Indiana "Indianoplace" in an email?