Being an NFL Fan, does it really make you mad to watch college football

[renojedi]

Alright, here comes a rant.

OK, first my bias. I am huge NFL fan and couldn't tell you word one about College football history. So I recognize there are probably some things I am not considering.

Anyway, last year I got a job at the local university so I have been following our team (the Nevada Wolfpack of the WAC). However, the more I learn about college, the more I don't even want to watch it. Here are my three reasons:

1. BCS. To me, this makes college football the same as pro wrestling. A popularity contest not neccesarily based upon the skill of the team. For an NFL fan, this is a joke. How can it be up to an outside group to pick who gets to play for a national title. Can you imagine if we went through the NFL season and then writers and coaches got to pick the two teams who got to play in the super bowl? Being a WAC supporter, I realize there is parity in the NFL and not in college so maybe Division one needs to be more segmented (sort of like soccer internationally) where if you play well you move up a tier and if you play poorly then you move down a tier. But as it stands now, the big schools (the BCS schools) get an automatic bid to a bowl. Again, can you imagine if teams, based upon their past performance got automatic byes to the playoffs in the NFL--are we ready to see the Raiders, 49er, and Rams make it every year no matter what the record? And just because the writers pick a team doesn't mean it really is the best...as the Boise St team showed Oklahoma a couple of years back...but do they get a chance to compete for a national title? No because they are not from one of the chosen conferences. I think we all know that even if lightning struck and a team like Central Michigan loaded their schedules with top 10 teams and beat them all, they still aren't getting anywhere near a national title game. Can you imagine an NFL where the Seahawks win but we don't let them go to the playoffs because the NFC West is weak? That in itself is pretty weak. And how can you have a national title decided when the two eligle teams don't even play each other in some final championship game. Again, it would be the same as the AFC and NFC teams not playing each other and then having the Super Bowl winner picked by some sportswriters. How fair is that?

2. Running up the score. BCS leads to this crap. To separate themselves from the pack, teams have to show the country how good they are. This happens every week and is really poor sportsmanship. You all know what whould happen if the Colts were up by 40 on the Falcons and decided to run a bunch of punt fakes and continue to pass...some Colts would be leaving the field on a stretcher. But in college, this is just accepted. Is that what we should teach kids about sportsmanship? When someone is down, rub their face it in it some more?

3. Intentional mismatches. Look at the non-conference games the teams select. Are any of them (despite an occasional Appalacian State type upset) ever competitive? For the BCS schools, it is a "safe" game that they won't lose. For the opponent, it is a chance to make some money playing a team they can't beat. So for the first couple of weeks of college football, it is a joke. Yes we can point to USC-Ohio but for every one of those there are multiple Missouri-Nevada games. Again, because college is like pro wrestling and you have to convince some old codgers at the news desks that you are a really good team, who is going to risk loading their non-conference schedule with real threats? And why does the NCAA allow this? Why not force parity (like the NFL) where everyone in a division plays everyone else in another division? Why can't all Big 12 schools play SEC schools for their non-conference games? And if your argument is not all teams in a division are equally good, then make it a random draw. We see NFL schedules come out and we often say how some teams have harder schedules. Make strength of schedule actually matter instead of worrying about some old joker at a newsdesk looking down on a team with 2 losses.

Bottom line: There are a select few teams that are the NCAA. Everyone else is there to make them look good. Sort of like putting a stiff in the ring with a boxer you are grooming for a title shot to make sure he doesn't get upset on his way up.

And I am sure some college fans will flame me (deservedly so), but I'd appreciate your comments all the same. I came off as a little direct but after watching college on Saturday, it really makes me mad that these college kids lay it all on the line and then their fate is not decided on the gridiron but in a computer spreadsheet. Do you guys really think college football is fair athletic sport? And if so, I'd love responses to my points.

Thanks guys.

[Brian Gee]

I like turtles!

[Vince]

Quote:

2. Running up the score. BCS leads to this crap. To separate themselves from the pack, teams have to show the country how good they are. This happens every week and is really poor sportsmanship. You all know what whould happen if the Colts were up by 40 on the Falcons and decided to run a bunch of punt fakes and continue to pass...some Colts would be leaving the field on a stretcher. But in college, this is just accepted. Is that what we should teach kids about sportsmanship? When someone is down, rub their face it in it some more?

[Cebby]

Not really.

I enjoy the lack of parity in college football. It'd be one thing if there were only 30 teams, but since there are 120, the lack of parity and differences in the teams means that there's almost always an exciting, good, or at least interesting game. A game between Purdue and Oregon can be completely different than the Auburn/Mississippi St game.

In the NFL, the teams are too similar. I watch all of the Redskins games, a big game, and usually Monday night games, but since there's only 1 game the other 3 times, I usually get bored with it. In college, when Michigan/Notre Dame sucks, I can turn to South Carolina/UGA, Oregon/Purdue, GTech/Va Tech, or Drag racing. When Baltimore is playing Cleveland or the Jets are playing the Panthers, I don't have that option.

I find most NFL games in which I have no rooting interest incredibly boring.

I would also like to second the liking of turtles.

[bkfount]

Quote: Originally Posted by renojedi

Alright, here comes a rant. OK, first my bias. I am huge NFL fan and couldn't tell you word one about College football history. So I recognize there are probably some things I am not considering. Anyway, last year I got a job at the local university so I have been following our team (the Nevada Wolfpack of the WAC). However, the more I learn about college, the more I don't even want to watch it. Here are my three reasons: Bottom line: There are a select few teams that are the NCAA. Everyone else is there to make them look good. Sort of like putting a stiff in the ring with a boxer you are grooming for a title shot to make sure he doesn't get upset on his way up. And I am sure some college fans will flame me (deservedly so), but I'd appreciate your comments all the same. I came off as a little direct but after watching college on Saturday, it really makes me mad that these college kids lay it all on the line and then their fate is not decided on the gridiron but in a computer spreadsheet. Do you guys really think college football is fair athletic sport? And if so, I'd love responses to my points. Thanks guys.

I've worked for different colleges as well, and find college football far superior to NFL. The BCS is flawed, but it doesn't ruin the passion, rivalries, and atmosphere at the games. It actually makes it better in my opinion. Apart from the early 1AA opponents that are scheduled almost as preseason games, every game is a playoff. The Colts shut their starters down in the 2nd quarter when they're nearing the playoffs while probably charging $100 for a ticket, college teams still have to play to win every game.

Colleges also have better rivalries than NFL teams full of rotating millionaires ever will. Army and Navy are nowhere near the level of Ohio State or USC, but their rivalry game always have passion.

Plus, who can't enjoy watching far different styles of offense play each other in college, while most NFL teams run the same style of offense as every one else.

I've also been to numerous NFL games, and the crowds are nowhere near college crowds. It doesn't matter if you are sitting in Lane Stadium, or a 1AA crowd, the fans and atmosphere make the game far more exciting. I never got goosebumps as NFL teams ran out of the tunnels.

[av7]

Not for me, I actually enjoy watching Saturday games. No game is really a lock so it's great to watch for an upset. If its a horrible blowout, I got a handful of other games going on instead of having the 4 games on Sunday to watch.

The teams dont have to be a big name for me to enjoy, its not like I'll know the players either way for the most part.

I like em both

[DrDoom77]

I used to feel the same way, but over the last decade I've almost done a 180 and now prefer college football. I feel like it's less predictable, in some ways, and I like the wider variety of teams, and the fact that more areas of the country are represented by those teams. I also like the constant turnover, with players who are only there for 3-4 years. It's similar to how I prefer college basketball over the NBA, though the gap between the college and pro ranks isn't as wide in football, for me, as it is in basketball. I don't like the BCS system, but I can tolerate it if I have to.

The fact that I've always played more NCAA football than Madden might have something to do with my changing preferences, I suppose.

[Vince]

This is an underrated factor for me...Announcers in the college game make it very exciting for me. Maybe other's it's not a big deal, but Ness and Mus make saturday's game's so much more enjoyable.