When September rolls around and the air gets a little colder
and you hear the sound of beer cans opening that can only mean one thing,
football is back. The NFL preseason starts in mid-August and even the most
enthusiastic of football fans hate preseason. You only get to see the starters
play for maybe a quarter, sometimes into the second quarter before the backups
and then their backups come in.
On the flip side, college football starts a little bit
before the preseason with teams having fall camp. If you’re like me and you’re
a college football fan you follow your team’s fall camp religiously. They don’t
get the exposure like the NFL does for obvious reasons, (college football isn’t
very media friendly sometimes), but you have sites like Rivals.com and
Scout.com that keep you in the loop. Regardless if you’re an NFL fan or college
fan, this time of the year is like Christmas, only better.
I might be slightly biased on this but I’m on the side of college football is better than NFL football. Before people start to jump down my throat, hear me out.
- · The atmosphere at a college game is better both inside and outside of the stadium.
- · The passion for college football is second to none. (If you disagree, go to an SEC game)
- · Tailgating. Tailgating. And more tailgating.
- · You don’t have to get up and go to work the next day.
I get the argument for the NFL being better because, well,
it’s the NFL. That speaks for itself; the greatest athletes in the world doing
things that only the smallest percentage of American’s can do. Speaking as
someone that has been to hundreds of college football games and only one NFL
game, I might not be qualified to give an opinion like this but I can tell you
that an NFL game to me is too laid back. It was a Monday night game, the
Washington Redskins played the Seattle Seahawks, and while the crowd in D.C.
was loud, it was only loud in the beginning. Maybe I need to explore more NFL
games which I’ll do this fall when I go to some Baltimore Ravens with my wife,
I still see the outcome being this: college football > NFL football. If you want more reasons, here you go:
- · Rivalries. Where do I begin? I could start up North with arguably the best rivalry in sports, Ohio State and Michigan. You could then travel down South to Alabama and watch the Iron Bowl as Alabama take on Auburn. Head out to the Pacific Northwest and watch as Oregon battles Oregon State in the Civil War. After you witness those games go back East and watch The Game as Harvard and Yale go at it. What makes it even better is that all these games typically take place on the last Saturday of the regular season.
- · A college town is usually better than an NFL city.
- · The fans make college football what it is. Again, I might be slightly biased on this one but the bias means nothing. College football fans are better than NFL. Plain and simple. If you disagree here's this. Or this. And this too.
- · Did I mention tailgating?
Like I said before, I’ve been to one NFL game so I can’t
speak on behalf of all NFL atmospheres but from what I saw as I walked up to
FedEx field I realized I wasn’t at a college game. When you walk from tailgate
to tailgate at a college game you’re immediately captivated by what you see.
And you see A LOT.
In order of things I love the most in life it’s my wife, college football (specifically Penn State), the NFL, a nice steak, and a cold Arnold Palmer or a beer. I don’t want you to think I dislike the NFL because I really do love the sport. I love it as much as the next guy who wishes he was playing.
Last but certainly not least it’s the tradition of college
football that separates it from other sports. Go to any college game across the
country and you’ll find some sort of tradition. Here’s just a sample.
- · Script Ohio with the Ohio State Marching Band. (click it)
- · The “We Are!” (click it) chants that ring throughout Beaver Stadium during a White Out.
- · Clemson’s Howard’s Rock. (click it)
- · The Grove at Ole Miss (click it)
- · Jump Around at Wisconsin (click it)
Those are some of the best traditions in college football.
Something the NFL doesn’t have.
Most importantly, college football is just more fun. I beg
you to find something that is better than an eight o’clock game in college
football after tailgating the entire day on a Fall Saturday. I’ll be waiting.
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