Red Raider Review

Red Raider Fan's Holiday Wish No. 13

We are now at Wish No. 13 for Texas Tech fans this holiday season, and this wish is very unique.
Ryan Kay|
Texas Tech featured on the hit show Landman
Texas Tech featured on the hit show Landman | Texas Tech

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Texas Tech Red Raiders

Holiday wishes have varied from wish No. 25 to wish No. 14, covering main topics primarily involving Red Raider football and basketball. However, this wish is different from those other wishes.

Getting attention for Texas Tech through popular outlets, whether it be social media, movies, or, in this case, a TV show, means that more people will become more familiar with the university and possibly even the athletic program and the Red Raider teams. This leads us to wish No. 13.

Holiday Wish No. 13: That the fictional character Cooper Norris in the Paramount+ show Landman becomes a big donor for the Texas Tech athletic department in the hit TV show.

Landman is a Paramount+ show that has an actor named Jacob Lofland who plays Cooper Norris, Tommy Norris's son. Tommy is played by Billy Bob Thornton, the show's primary character. Cooper in the show was a Texas Tech student, then an oilfield worker, and now an oilfield operator and owner. He always appears to have his Texas Tech hat on throughout the show.

Many folks saw him wearing a Texas Tech cap with the Double T insignia on it. In one scene, a character has a Texas Tech tattoo on their arm, which is another way the university is represented in the program.

Let's first discuss why this show has a connection to Texas Tech.

Texas Tech provided practical information to ensure the atmosphere of the oil company was realistic.

Marshall Watson is the chairman of Texas Tech's Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering, and Paramount Pictures contacted him to request assistance from his team for the show.

He taught the group "Oilfield 101" and brought them on a field trip to working oilfields near Lubbock to see what it was like to work on an oil rig.

Later, he worked in Fort Worth as a set advisor and directed the production crew to a Texas Tech alumnus who was also a well-known engineer for more information and assistance on the set, with the purpose of making the technical elements "as realistic as possible."

Texas Tech and their faculty have played a key role in helping the show Landman be as realistic as possible when it comes to the scenes at the oil fields.

Let's go back to the original wish.

How and why would it be something Texas Tech fans would want? Simply, a fictional character in a hit TV show being a Texas Tech big-time NIL donor would not only be entertaining but beneficial in ways to further bring attention and give more exposure to the Red Raiders' football program.

The idea is that Cooper decides to donate a portion of his millions of dollars earned from his oil fields to help fund Texas Tech's NIL program in the show. Ideally, the show would film in Lubbock and on Texas Tech's campus as part of Cooper deciding to become a big-time donor to Texas Tech. It could also feature scenes in Jones AT&T Stadium and even possible cameos from current players and coaches.

This wish would not directly impact Texas Tech athletics, but it would be cool for Red Raider fans to see this possible storyline play out on a popular TV show to further expand Texas Tech's brand and give the football program more exposure and even possibly expand their fanbase with new fans.

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Ryan Kay
RYAN KAY

Ryan Kay is a journalist who graduated from Michigan State in 2003 and is passionate about covering college sports and enjoys writing features and articles covering various collegiate teams. He has worked as an editor at Go Joe Bruin and has been a contributor for Longhorns Wire and Busting Brackets. He is a contributor for Texas Tech On SI.

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