Why College Football is better than the NFL

[Excel]

It’s getting to be that time of year again. With the BCS National Championship signaling the end of the College Football Season football fans are once again cast into the over hyped and tremendously commercialized world of the NFL to get their fix. Granted it is the playoffs so it’s slightly more interesting but I still hate the professional form of the sport and I hate that it gets more attention. Each year, right around this time, I begin rattling off the reasons that I far prefer the collegiate game. Some of the largest;

 

-There is more diversity in game philosophy in the NCAA than in the NFL. In the NFL you might see some variation but it’s pretty minimal, there is no great divide like we see in the NCAA. A collegiate fan can watch the Service Academies or GT run the option like it’s still the Great Depression, watch Oregon with its lightning fast offense or watch a well disciplined team like K-State murder opponents with discipline and clock control. Variations even exist between conferences, just think of the differences in play between the Big Ten, Big Twelve and SEC. I don’t think that variety exists in the NFL, at least not to as great a degree.

 

-Teams are actually tied to their homes and fan allegiances usually mean something. How many Cowboy fans do you know that have never been to Texas? How many Steeler fans with no connection whatsoever to Pittsburgh? “Sidewalk” alumni and fans certainly exist in collegiate athletics but in the NFL they are the rule rather than the exception, it is inherent in the very nature of the league. A kid growing up in Denver has very little chance of growing up to be a Denver Bronco but he is already a native son of Colorado, whether he sees that allegiance as being with the CSU or CU. If I graduate from Illinois I am an Illini, my connection to that team is near permanent. I will never be a Chicago Bear.

 

The Volunteers can never pack up and leave Tennessee but the Titans sure can. College teams are tied to their colleges and the colleges to their states. When I watch Wisconsin, Illinois, or Ohio State play I can be sure that if not a majority, at least a plurality, of that team’s players are native to that state. That team actually represents Ohio. I can’t say that when I watch the New York Giants. To be short, the ties between the fans/regions and the teams are much stronger and are very real in college football. In the NFL they are, in most cases, artificial.

 

-College football has more passion and a better atmosphere. I always found it funny that a person would tailgate at an NFL game. Why? I tailgate, at college games, because they’re great places to reconnect with other alumni and friends. In the NFL the dude grilling next to me is just another guy from the city I happen to live in. Attending a college game can be a much larger experience than the game itself. Alumni can reminisce and parents can show their children a bit of their past and expose them to higher education.

 

What NFL teams have bands and actual cheerleaders rather than "dance teams" or whatever they're called? Many college football teams have larger stadiums than the Pro's and much more interesting facilities. There is also far more tradition in college ball, whether it be rolling Oak trees in toilet paper or burning a giant wooden caricature of a rival's mascot. The players play with more heart as their fellow students and hometowns are watching and they have to live and go to class at that school every single day. Most of the collegiate players, save for a few bad apples like Cam Newton, aren't playing for the money, at least not money in the here and now. Many of them will never receive payment for their performance and some are just happy to have walked on to the team. To me that is far purer than the NFL where guys hold out for better contracts or feel they can take an off year.

 

Rivalries also have to be mentioned. Which means more, the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Philadelphia Eagles or Auburn vs. Alabama? That illustrates the point pretty well.

 

-College football has a better setup than the NFL. By setup I mean the rankings, the conferences and the schedules. The NCAA may be a bit scattered but its far more entertaining. There aren't upsets in the NFL like there are in college. The difference between the AFC and NFC is meaningless while the divide between the Big Ten and the SEC often takes on shades of the Civil War. We college fans complain about conference realignment weakening that meaning but in the NFL it has long been dead. How is a team from Dallas in an Eastern Division and a team from St. Louis in a Western one? I guess Mr. Goodell knows the answer to that one.

 

Anyhow I guess that pretty much raps up my rant. Here’s a short outline of why I much prefer NCAA football to NFL football for those that don't want to read my spiel;

 

The NCAA has better (X) than the NFL

-Diversity in style of play

-More representative teams

-Actual fan allegiance to teams

-Better Atmosphere

> > +Tailgating

> > +Bands

> > +Cheerleaders

> > +Stadiums

> > +Visits/Travel Opportunities

> > +History/Tradition

> > +Rivalries

> > +Amateurism better motivates players

-Setup

> > +Rankings

> > +Regular Season Games mean more

> > +Conferences make more sense, have more meaning

 

All of that is not to say that I hate the NFL. I have a team I like and watch pretty devotedly, but that's just it, one team. I don't care if the Bengals are playing the Browns. I won't watch. I may look at the stats afterward to keep up with a particular player I'm interested in but you can't get me to watch a game not involving my team, while on any given Saturday I'll try to watch as many college games as possible. Maybe that's just me though.

 

I will say that I cannot understand why a person would prefer NFL football to the NCAA game.

 

What say you? I'm sure the results will be skewed given that this is a "college" site but have at it.

[irafreak]

I would also add that I will follow Nebraska NFL players more diligently than my Chiefs. I love college football. Every game means something. Nobody is tanking games to get the top draft choice. The amatuer kids make momentum a bigger factor. It's not uncommon to see 20+ point comebacks. And when I'm in arrowhead watching the chiefs lose and listening to the one obnoxiously drunk opposing fan brag about "his" team, I know he probably has nothing to do with "his" team and more than likely lived in KC his whole life.

[Count 'Bility]

Pro football is a business. College football is an extracurricular activity.

[LouisianaHuskerFan]

If I have to choose I would choose the NFL over College Football. I really like them both a lot but the NFL is much better to me. If college football would ever get rid of the crappy bowl system and go to a true playoff system then I might lean more towards college but for now I'll stick with the NFL.

[Count 'Bility]

If I have to choose I would choose the NFL over College Football. I really like them both a lot but the NFL is much better to me. If college football would ever get rid of the crappy bowl system and go to a true playoff system then I might lean more towards college but for now I'll stick with the NFL.

But then the regular season wouldnt mean anything. , since EVERY teams gets into the playoffs regardless of record.

[WoodyHayes1951]

Rivalries in the pros are manufactured.

 

Stadiums in the pros are replaceable.

 

 

marching bands, mascots,etc

 

College >>>>>>>>>>>> NFL

[Ulty]

I agree that the best is (in Dan Hawkins voice) DIVISION ONE COLLEGE FOOTBALL.

 

The diverse styles, the strategy, the pageantry, the bands, the recruiting, the controversy, the traditions, the loyalty, young athletes becoming grown men, the scandals, the iconic uniforms, the ugly uniforms, the college chicks. It all beats what you get with the NFL, and there is much more of it. It is more interesting and more dramatic.

 

The only thing the NFL has is more parity and a higher level of competition. The best of the best are on display, and they all go head to head against each other. Both are enjoyable, but college has far more going on and more to get invested in, especially if your alma mater is involved.

[Hammerhead]

If I have to choose I would choose the NFL over College Football. I really like them both a lot but the NFL is much better to me. If college football would ever get rid of the crappy bowl system and go to a true playoff system then I might lean more towards college but for now I'll stick with the NFL.

But then the regular season wouldnt mean anything. , since EVERY teams gets into the playoffs regardless of record.

 

I assume/hope you're being sarcastic here.

 

Everyone knows that the BCS system is a joke.

[Count 'Bility]

If I have to choose I would choose the NFL over College Football. I really like them both a lot but the NFL is much better to me. If college football would ever get rid of the crappy bowl system and go to a true playoff system then I might lean more towards college but for now I'll stick with the NFL.

But then the regular season wouldnt mean anything. , since EVERY teams gets into the playoffs regardless of record.

 

I assume/hope you're being sarcastic here.

 

 

What do you think?

[tschu]

I enjoy college more than the NFL, but the NFL does have the better system, I'd argue. Rules in place to promote parity while still allowing for teams to have runs of greatness. A fair and even conference/division structure and schedules that are about as even as you could ever hope for them to be. A (nearly) perfect playoff system. As far as setup goes, once the NFL went to its current format 10 years ago or whatever, it's basically perfection. Compare with college where geography plays a massive part due to recruiting, an incredibly unbalanced conference system with scheduling that is up to the teams themselves and can be all over the place... the NFL's structure is fantastic and much more fair by comparison. Still, college football is awesome for a lot of other reasons.

[Hammerhead]

If I have to choose I would choose the NFL over College Football. I really like them both a lot but the NFL is much better to me. If college football would ever get rid of the crappy bowl system and go to a true playoff system then I might lean more towards college but for now I'll stick with the NFL.

But then the regular season wouldnt mean anything. , since EVERY teams gets into the playoffs regardless of record.

 

I assume/hope you're being sarcastic here.

 

 

What do you think?

 

Juuuuuuuuust making sure.

[irafreak]

I enjoy college more than the NFL, but the NFL does have the better system, I'd argue. Rules in place to promote parity while still allowing for teams to have runs of greatness. A fair and even conference/division structure and schedules that are about as even as you could ever hope for them to be. A (nearly) perfect playoff system. As far as setup goes, once the NFL went to its current format 10 years ago or whatever, it's basically perfection. Compare with college where geography plays a massive part due to recruiting, an incredibly unbalanced conference system with scheduling that is up to the teams themselves and can be all over the place... the NFL's structure is fantastic and much more fair by comparison. Still, college football is awesome for a lot of other reasons.

I still say the system is suited for the levels of competition. A playoff works in the NFL because the teams are on level playing fields. Few complain about the underdog winning in the playoffs because all the pro teams are capable of beating each other without it being too much of a shocker. I'll be anxious to see the first big upset in the college playoff that completely screws a deserving team out of the title game and all because a team that shouldn't have been in the playoff sneaked in over other more deserving teams. You wait. It'll happen. Some team will get voted into the bracket over a bunch of other teams that are more deserving and knock of the #1 seed in a fluke game or the #1 team rolls them and practically gets a bye while the other two teams slug it out. Then the committee will have to tweak the rules to make things better just like the BCS does.

 

The only thing different between a playoff and the BCS is simply more games played. How bad will it be when college gets to a point where it's teams can coast during the last week because they've already locked in their conference title game and simply winning that will get them into the bracket? College basketball keeps watering down their playoff. NFL now talking about doing the same. I'm concerned the regular season will end up like the NBA's.

[Count 'Bility]

If I have to choose I would choose the NFL over College Football. I really like them both a lot but the NFL is much better to me. If college football would ever get rid of the crappy bowl system and go to a true playoff system then I might lean more towards college but for now I'll stick with the NFL.

But then the regular season wouldnt mean anything. , since EVERY teams gets into the playoffs regardless of record.

 

I assume/hope you're being sarcastic here.

 

 

What do you think?

 

Juuuuuuuuust making sure.

I hate that argument against College football playoffs. Give me a break. There's 68? teams in the NCAA basketball tournament, and even they have to play a regular season to determine who gets in. Even an 8 or 16 team playoff in college football would still allow the regular season to be just as exciting as it is now.

[Haspula]

I enjoy both, but i'm a bigger fan of NCAA than NFL

[The Dude]

NCAA has the better regular season. NFL has the better postseason.