Reasons to Prefer College Football Over the NFL Articles | Gambling

By: Richard Bleuze

Reasons to Prefer College Football Over the NFL

Passion, tradition and rivalries are just the most obvious reasons college football beats the NFL in my opinion.

1. The Players - It is fun to see players develop into future NFL stars, but I think what I enjoy most are watching the guys that are maybe a little too small, a little too slow, or a little too short to be NFL prospects, yet make a real difference for their teams purely out of determination and heart.  In college football, you get to watch them before they turn into prima-donna's as many of the players in the NFL!
 
2. Rankings, Bowls, and BCS - I may be in the minority, but I love the eternal debate over who deserves what ranking, who should go to what bowl, who got shafted by the BCS formula, etc.  These things are never clear cut, but it keeps people talking.  Then again, there are so many bowls to watch at the end of the season compared to the NFL post season period leading up to the Super Bowl.
 
3. The Schemes - The variety of offensive schemes and formations are a real treat to watch.  Navy's triple option or Texas Tech pass-happy, point scoring juggernaut simply do not have an equal in the NFL.

4.  Rivalries - Army-Navy.  Ohio State-Michigan.  Alabama-Auburn.  Texas-Oklahoma.  Harvard-Yale.  Williams-Amherst.  No matter the division, there are rivalries that go 365-24-7.  Not only in college football, but in other sports such as basketball.  You revel in victory and agonize in defeat.  What does the NFL offer in comparison? Green Bay-Minnesota?  How big can a rivalry be when the teams only play it twice a year?
 
5. Upset Saturday - Every week there are a new set of highly ranked teams with a target on their heads.  Every week, one or more of them loses to the underdog team. Unlike NFL football, everyone in college football brings their "A-game" to play a top rank team.
 
6. Overtime - The college rules are the only fair way to settle a tie!  In college football, both teams get the ball.  In the NFL, you can lose the game without one side of your team stepping onto the field.
 
7.  Passion - 19 year old college students sporting face paint and a toga matching their school colors - Hilarious! 49 year old doing the same thing at an NFL game - Midlife crisis
 
8.  College Gameday - I know there are only so many mascot heads that Corso can put on before it gets old, but I love the energy of the on campus pre-game show.  In addition, the are the traditions - Such as checkerboard end zones, Aggies kissing their girls after a touchdown, Nittany Lion roars, Boats on Lake Washington anchoring at a Husky game, The flaming spear at midfield, The Sooner Schooner, Touchdown Jesus, etc.  Traditions are the imprimatur of every college team and its fans.

9.  Stadiums - Most NFL owners hold up their hometowns for state-of-the-art palaces that have as much personality as a downtown skyscraper.  Many of the college stadiums are classics like the stadiums at Notre Dame, Ohio State or most any SEC school any day of the week.  In addition, think about this: Which sport has 16 stadiums that average more than 80,000 in attendance?  Well, it is not the NFL.  The NFL has one.
 
10. Coaches - While NFL coaches are often considered only as good as last week's score, legendary college coaches (Joe Pa and Bobby Bowden) get the equivalent of a Supreme Court appointment: coach for life.  In college football, unlike the NFL teams, coaches build something to last.  History demands that Michigan must win (or Nebraska or USC).  What does history demand of the San Diego Chargers besides an introduction?

11. College halftimes - NFL halftime means a break.  College halftime means tradition with marching bands playing the fight song.  Songs like Hail to the Victors, We are the Boys from Old Florida, and champions of the West, etc.

12. Commercials - Way too many in the NFL since they must help pay the various costs.

13. Cheerleaders - I will take the sweater clad collegiate cheerleaders any day over the spandex and glitter of the NFL cheerleaders.
 
Finally, college is where football started!  Long before the NFL was formed, football was played on many college campuses.  In fact, the first college football game was played November 6, 1869 between Rutgers and Princeton while the NFL did not reach anything resembling its current form until the 1920's.

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