This English couple traveled 4,800 miles to attend homecoming weekend at Texas Tech and get engaged.
Homecoming weekend is an annual tradition for Red Raiders.
For Nathan Dowie and Louise Burgess of Birmingham, England, it was the trip of a lifetime.
The couple met at a country music festival in Leicestershire three years ago. The music sparked an instant connection – Flatland Cavalry, William Clark Green, Josh Abbott and Randall King. They realized they were both searching for something England couldn’t quite offer: the wide-open horizons of Texas.
This homecoming weekend, they flew 4,800 miles to find it. Nathan brought an engagement ring. Louise said yes.
The Quintessential American Football Experience
“I’ve been listening to country music since I was a little girl,” Louise says.
Nathan came to it later but has been all-in since hearing Josh Abbott years back.
While country music’s popularity in the U.K. might seem improbable, the couple says it’s become trendy due to the recent ascent of Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” and “Landman.”
Between the musicians they listen to and the Western shows they love to binge, the couple began dreaming about a Texas road trip. They’d heard their favorite artists talk about Lubbock and it piqued their interest.
The trip may have been centered on music alone, if not for a tweet Nathan sent out two years ago.
Nathan hosts “Fields of Fantasy,” a podcast about the NFL’s fantasy football sensation. On a trip to Florida to see the Miami Dolphins, a friend told him if he wanted the quintessential American football experience, he needed college football.
Nathan took to X and asked his listeners to recommend the American university with the most passion and the best fanbase.
“Red Raider fans blew up that tweet,” he says laughing. “It was obvious they just loved their team.”
Nathan has watched every Texas Tech football game for the past two years.
“The evening games are tricky since kickoff is after midnight in England,” he says.
Louise watched some of the games with her boyfriend. Maybe not the late-night ones, but she wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Over time, the couple became some of the most ardent Red Raider fans in England.
When Nathan heard Flatland Cavalry would play Texas Tech University’s homecoming concert, he knew.
“I bought an engagement ring in March,” he says. “I’ve held onto it because I wanted to propose someplace special.”
England has no lack of breathtaking scenery, but he wanted a special place they could return to – a home away from home. So much about Lubbock felt central to their love story. He booked the plane tickets.
The Road Trip
The couple landed in Austin, Texas on Oct. 4 and connected with their friend Wesley Lucas, a Texas Tech graduate they’d befriended at last year’s festival in Leicestershire. Wesley now directs communications for Visit Austin and had been promoting Texas tourism when she spotted Nathan in a Texas Tech shirt.
“I was baffled,” Wesley remembers.
But Nathan wasn’t merely a T-shirt fan. He knew Crickets and Chimy’s, the team, the traditions.
They stayed in touch through Instagram.
“He reached back out to me a bit ago and told me they were visiting,” Wesley says. “He also confided that he wanted to propose and asked for ideas.”
Wesley told him when he found the right spot, he’d know.
As the couple drove into Lubbock, Louise asked if they could stop at Ransom Canyon. She’d been watching April Blair’s Netflix adaptation and wanted to see the show’s namesake.
“It became clear that’s not where they filmed, but it was still gorgeous,” she says.
They drove their rental car down into the canyon. The sweeping views and the dipping sun took their breath away. Nathan had been planning to propose at the concert that night, but when he saw how captivated Louise was on the docks, he changed course.
“Louise loves being on the water,” Nathan says. “I knew this is where I wanted to ask her.”
Louise was photographing the Bruno House when she turned around. Nathan was on one knee.
“I was shocked,” she says. “Nathan loses everything. He misplaces his keys all the time so the idea of him keeping track of a ring across the Atlantic Ocean is crazy. Although now I know why he was so protective of his luggage.”
To celebrate, the couple caught the homecoming parade, crossed campus to the bonfire, then watched the concert.
“They don’t do anything like that in England,” Nathan says.
As Flatland Cavalry took the stage, Louise says the evening felt surreal. Her favorite song, “A Life Where We Work Out,” washed over them under the Texas sky – lyrics about learning to love being in your own skin and finding that love in someone else too.
Game Day
Saturday morning arrived with anticipation. They reached campus early to take part in tailgating - a tradition absent in England.
“We go to the pub instead,” Nathan remarks.
The acres of smokers, barbecues, tents, live music, families playing corn hole – it was the friendliest place they’d ever been.
When they stumbled into a private ProPetro tailgate and apologetically tried to back out, their accents caught the host’s attention.
“A few minutes later we had free food and drinks, and they were asking about our story,” Nathan says. “We could tell they were a bit gob smacked. They were so welcoming.”
As kickoff neared, Nathan and Louise scanned their tickets and headed toward section 120, seats on the 40-yard line. In their Texas Tech apparel, you’d never know they weren’t native Lubbockites.
Saturday night’s game unfolded as the perfect first taste of Texas football. The Masked Rider galloping onto the field. The tortilla toss at kickoff. The nail-biting first half. The Goin’ Band from Raiderland.
“That was fantastic,” Louise says. “Real top-notch experience. Hats off to ya guys.”
Proper Friends
Sunday night, they ventured to the Blue Light Live on Buddy Holly Avenue. Their favorite bands got their start at this stomping ground. They couldn’t leave without making this final pilgrimage.
Even for a Sunday, the Blue Light reverberated with tunes and two-stepping to the music of No Dry Country, Ronnie and the Redwoods and the Clay Gibson Band. Nathan and Louise grabbed two stools overlooking the dance floor, absorbing the venue’s everyday magic.
“Does everyone here know how to two-step?” Louise asks.
She’s itching to try, but Nathan keeps a hand on his Shiner Bock, showing some reservation. Then a man catches their eye. Someone in a Texas Tech shirt walks across the room and embraces them both.
It’s the fan who welcomed them into the private tailgate the day before.
“Only in town a few days,” Louise says, grinning, “and we’ve already got proper friends.”