British turned Cajun: Couple attends Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football game, becomes fans

There’s one undeniable fact about football: It brings us together.

Lafayette is more than 4,600 miles away from Oxfordshire, England. On the surface, the two places couldn’t be more different. Driving on opposite sides of the road, the weather and contrast in culture are noticeable.

However, the overarching most important aspect that defies all the distinction, as Pete Stanton implies, is all people are generally good.

That cuts the distance between individuals substantially. In the case of Stanton and his fiancé, Molly Jones, mix in a shared interest of American football and even the most outside of outsiders fit right in.

Here's the story how their love of football and new culture led them on an unexpected journey to a Louisiana football game and an experience that has made them Ragin' Cajun fans for life.

First exposure to American football

Stanton was 5 when he was first exposed to American football, catching a Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Miami Dolphins game on TV. The Bucs won that day and by default to a first-time NFL watcher, they instantly became his team.

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“They won, so therefore I thought they were the best team in the world,” Stanton now laughs.

Stanton spent the next 15-plus years watching Bucs games when he could all the while playing and participating in his first love, rugby. When he enrolled at Bangor University in Wales, the school offered football. This was Stanton’s time.

“I thought I’d might try something different and played football. I thought I’d be good at it,” said Stanton, who ended up playing for three years. “But I was in fact not very good at it at all.”

Dollywood and Ragin' Cajuns

Stanton and Jones planned their two-week long voyage to the United States for a little more than a year. The couple, who have been together for 3 ½ years and got engaged just days before they embarked to the United States, flew into Atlanta on Sept. 3, then traveled to Tennessee for a few days, where Jones got to submerge herself in the land of her favorite musical artist, Dolly Parton.

“Molly loves Dolly,” Jones quipped with a burst of laughter. “Dollywood was good. It was a good laugh. I enjoyed it a lot there. It was a perfect welcome to America.”

The pair then made their way to Nashville and Memphis before heading south to Natchez, Mississippi, and then making their way over to Lafayette, followed by New Orleans, Pensacola, Florida, and Montgomery, Alabama, before returning to Atlanta for the flight home Sept. 16.

One thing Stanton knew he wanted to do while in the States was to attend his first live American college football game. Originally, Lafayette wasn’t part of the plan but the timing of their trip brought it into view.

“Every big city we were going to, the games were away. Saints playing somewhere else. We couldn’t get to Atlanta, they were playing somewhere else. NFL was ruled out,” Stanton said. “I said, ‘OK let’s look at college. We looked at the plan and we could see that Lafayette was playing at home. 'That actually works, so let’s do that then.’ ”

So the couple ended up at the Louisiana-Eastern Michigan game Sept. 10 at Cajun Field. Their expectations of the scene before a Ragin’ Cajuns football game was close, but there were more RVs and less “barbecues in the back of pickups.”

But one thing that lived up to their expectation was the hospitality. Lafayette native Kellie Varisco hooked them up with free tickets to the game.

“I think this has exceeded my expectations,” Jones said. “I didn’t think people would be quite this friendly or welcoming. They’re like, ‘Come and join us, eat our food.’ You won’t get that in England.”

For proper football matches – er, soccer matches, as they’re called in America – the tailgating scene in England lacks in sprawling community and is more headquartered in pubs near the stadiums. The main reason for that, Stanton and Jones say, is because of the rainy, cold weather.

The environment inside the stadiums of an American football game and English soccer match is very different as well, said Jones, who cheers for Leeds United in the English Premier League and the Northampton Saints in Premiership Rugby.

“It can be a bit tribal, us versus them," he said about soccer matches. "You feel very on edge most of the time. To me, it's not a great experience. Now, rugby very different. It’s more of a family atmosphere. Everyone enjoys each other before the games.”

British couple becomes Cajuns for life

Despite Cajun Field being roughly half full, Jones and Stanton were still blown away by the atmosphere at the game.

“I’ve been to higher capacity ground for rugby and soccer games back home which have had more fans but less atmosphere," Stanton said. "Clearly the fans are passionate about the team, and the noise created felt like a full stadium."

Stanton and Jones have done their fair share of traveling: Cambodia, New Zealand and Egypt have been among their destinations. It’s a big world, they say, and there’ so much to experience from different cultures to meeting new people.

They contend that what they experienced at the Ragin' Cajuns football game, how welcomed they felt from the moment they arrived, they are no longer outsiders. They feel part of the family.

“Most of it is about having a good time, make friends and be nice,” Jones said. “There are so many different cultures, people to meet and to see. it was great and the people were so lovely. You can find good people everywhere.”

Stanton added, “They’ve  got a couple of fans for life now.”

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: British couple attends Louisiana football game, becomes Cajuns fans