Visit Dallas says they’re expecting the football game this weekend between the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma to bring in $38 million to their region.
Dominic Hallas, along with his two friends, David McDonald and Mark Howat, are spending two weeks in Texas exclusively to watch football. Hallas said the sporting culture is different coming from London.
“It’s very difficult for us culturally coming from the UK,” Hallas said. “For example, high school sports, you’d get 50 people, including your mom watching the match.”
All three will be at the high school game Friday night between Westlake and Lake Travis, which is expected to draw 10,000 people. Prior to this, they’ve watched Texas A&M University play Alabama, the Dallas Cowboys play the Green Bay Packers and even went to Churchill’s high school game against Reagan in San Antonio.
“I guess high school and college fans are a lot more passionate and it seems like it matters and there’s much more sense of place,” Howat said.
The three friends say Texans have been welcoming and have shown interest in what they’re doing.
“It’s a great conversation starter,” he said. “When people hear our accents, they say ‘what are you guys doing here?’ especially when we’ve been in the more rural parts of Texas, where they don’t necessarily get random guys from London rolling in every week.”
While this is a short trip, Hallas said they all feel right at home in the football stands throughout Texas.