Last night, noted ball-in-hoop lover Ted Cruz ruined a beloved, classic film for an entire nation in a record-breaking 19 seconds. Never one to miss the chance to “score a touchdown” (also a sports term), former sportscaster Sarah Palin took the opportunity to teach Ted Cruz a thing or two about the game of sports. Play ball!

On her alarmingly active Facebook, Palin writes:

It’s smarter to actually put the ball through the HOOP before you claim victory.

And the crowd went wild:

Palin may have her terminology down, but is she correct about when one declares victory in the sport of basketball? To find out, we asked Deadspin.com staff writer Samer Kalaf to offer some insight. Kalaf notes that, in basketball, “when you get more points than your opponent, and the buzzer signals the end of the game, you can declare victory.”

It’s complicated, I know. In other words, victory can only be declared once you have put the ball through the hoop more times than your opponent. Which means that Sarah Palin’s hypothetically favored method (put the ball through the hoop once, then run away shrieking in delight) would not count, according to Kalaf.

So who got more owned in the end? According to Kalaf, “Sarah Palin got more owned, because I just looked at her Facebook post again and apparently she liked her own inaccurate burn, which is so sad.” Can’t argue with an expert.

