'We love a girl that watches football': Teams react to Olandria's 'Love Island USA' moment
On the dating reality series, Olandria of Decatur, Alabama, gushed about her love for sports while talking to fellow islander Nicolas "Nic" Vansteenberghe, stating that she's a fan of Auburn University's football team.
"I love college football season. Saturdays, I'll literally just be at home watching college football. I'm not even kidding," Olandria stated.
"We love a girl that watches football," Nic responded.
The duo, coined by fans as "NicOlandria" became favorites during their time in the Fijian villa. The show captured how they're relationship blossomed from platonic to romantic while navigating their other connections.
Post-show, Nic and Olandria stated in recent interviews that they focused on getting to know each other better.
"I'm hopefully going to go to Decatur and visit some of Olandria's family," Nic told the "Chicks in the Office" podcast. "It's just so fun, all the opportunities that have arisen to us, and we're going to go to some college football games."
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College football teams shout out Olandria
Nic and Olandria's reach goes far beyond their fandom. Brands, news publications, and sports teams have mentioned them and given them a shoutout in their online content.
This week, Olandria's sports conversation is at the center of both Auburn and Ohio State's social media promotional videos for the upcoming football season. Both teams tagged her in their captions.
In the original clip, Nic asked Olandria if she was a Bama fan (referring to the University of Alabama), Olandria quickly responded that she was an Auburn fan. Nic responded with "What?!" as she explained that, "it's something about underdogs that give me chills." Auburn has taken on the underdog role over the years as they have won fewer national championships than Alabama. The two have one of the fiercest rivals in college football known as the Iron Bowl. Alabama leads the series with more wins however, Auburn has pulled out some notable victories over their in-state competitor including the iconic 2013 game known as Kick Six.
"One season ends…the best one begins," the caption of the Auburn video stated.
"Olandria said what we were all thinking," Ohio State wrote.
Olandria won't have to wait long for her football fix. According to the NCAA, the 2025 college football season begins on August 23.
Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@gannett.com.
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