We had so much fun railing against the NBA in our Top 5 list, we've decided to make it a weekly event. Sometimes the lists will be about sports, sometimes they won't. Either way, think of them as a timeout from the insanity of BCS talk. Today we will run down the reasons that the nation's most popular overrated sport fails to live up to its college counterpart.
5. College athletes actually have something to prove.
In the college game, the players aren't millionaires. They're not playing to get a couple extra bucks from a bonus, they're playing just to win. To us, that makes all the difference. Unless you're one of the lucky few who will make it to playing on Sundays, there is nothing to gain from playing in college except winning. And in college you're winning for 100,000 of your best friends, not just whoever a bunch of marketers rounded up to watch a team in a city you're probably not even from.
4. The tailgate scene.
Yes, we know that people tailgate at pro games too. But have you ever been to one? Since NFL stadiums are generally located in pretty urban areas, tailgates always happen in some nondescript, lame-o parking lot. Too cold and industrial for us. We much prefer the all the different settings that college football provides for our tailgating needs (and the scenery is a little better at a college game, if you get what we're driving at). And obviously, if you want to hang out in a giant field and roam around with tens of thousands of your friends, Penn State is the place to be.
Yeah, that looks fun.3. Style of play.
Before someone bashes this reason, we know, we know, the NFL players are faster and stronger, and that limits the types of offenses that can be run and college is so slow and blah blah blah. That's not our point. In the NFL, it's all the same. Sure, Miami busted out the Wildcat formation this year, and you might see a gadget play every once in a while, but generally the style of play in the NFL is pretty similar. But just think about college. You get to see the spread, the option, smash-mouth, Tebow's jump passes, and whatever the ACC is trying to pass off as offense. When it comes to style of play, we're equal opportunity fans: we love the diversity of the college game.
2. Stronger emotional ties to college teams.
For many people, your life at college was the best time of your life, and if you went to a big football school, half of every year was dedicated to the football team in that town. You are on that campus because you chose to be there and when the team takes the field, it's like you're right there with them. They represent the town, the school and most importantly, you.
It's exciting watching your hometown NFL team, but to us the pro game is too much of a business and not enough competition. The players are foreign and hard to cheer for.
When you're pulling for the college guys, you already have that strong bond because you both chose to attend that school.
1. The atmosphere at the stadium.
The lack of marching bands at NFL stadiums could be a reason all its own, but stadium atmosphere is more than just the band. It's the unique feel of all the college stadiums (vs. the sterile, cookie cutter feel of NFL stadiums). It's the fight songs, the rowdy students, the noise level and even the sheer number of people at a college game that sets it apart from a pro game. It may be a bit of an apples-to-oranges argument (mostly because pro fans can never match the intensity of a drunken student section), but attend one game of each and see which one is more exciting.
1 Comment:
in re #4:
there is something about tailgating on grass, in a pasture. i don't know what it is; all i can say is that it just feels right.
i taligated at the vet and linc a few times. it just feels detatched. i love my eagles, but they pale in comparison in my almost religeous fervor for psu. further, on saturdays, we are all friends in the fields. on sundays, i have actually gotten into fights with fellow eagle fans over their behavior (shocking). which leads to your points 2 and 1.
maybe it's because i can just better relate to the college game. many of these players went to the same classes as me, ate at the same chow halls, and had to endure that god-awful weather from jan-may. we will always have that in common.
the professional game is just that. most of the players live in jersey. i have never had a day-to-day contact with them. they are paid millions. many of them went to schools of ill-repute. i can relate to them in that we both agree to cheer for the same team on sunday.
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