FOOTBALL SEASON IS IN FULL SWING!!!! This is by far my favorite time of year because I am such a big football fan. The perfect fall sports weekend for me would consist of watching one or two college football games on Saturday followed by watching every possible NFL game that I can all day on Sunday and then on Monday night. Although I like college football quite a bit, I definitely prefer the NFL.
I know and have met a lot of people who are huge football fans. Some of them are college and professional fans, but the majority of them prefer one or the other. Although there are some exceptions, the majority of the die-hard college football fans that I have met do not like the NFL at all. While on the other hand, most of the NFL fans that I know (including myself) like college football also but simply likes the NFL better. Although they are both share the name football, these are definitely two very different games. With that being said, I will evaluate what I feel are the differences between the two games. Hopefully this will explain why each game attracts the type of fan that it does.
GAME DAY ATMOSPHERE
The differences in the atmosphere at an NFL game can’t be compared to that of a college game. The atmosphere for a big game between two major college football teams is among the best in sports. If you don’t believe me, tune-in next Saturday night for the game between USC and Ohio State. The stadium will be electric and you will be able to feel the excitement through your television screen, especially if you are watching in High Definition. By far the coolest thing to witness in all of football (especially in High Definition) is the “White Out” by Penn State fans when they play a big home game at night. College tailgating is also much better than tailgating at NFL games. The main reason for this fact is that most college games are played on Saturday, and most people don’t work on Sunday, so they can get as drunk as their body will allow. On the other hand NFL tailgaters have to be careful because they have to be able to make it home and get ready for work the following day.
The main difference between professional and college crowds is “THE STUDENT SECTION.” This section is filled with drunk college kids who are at the game simply to continue the party from tailgating that morning and getting ready for an after party that night. More often than not these students know very little about football, but go to the games because it is the thing to do on campus and they are a lot of fun. The rest of the stadium is filled with alumni, locals, and fans of the other team who are all dressed up and ready to yell and scream in support of their team for 3 ½ hours. At the schools that have top tier college football programs, each game day is an event, and it is just an amazing experience. Especially when ESPN’s College Gameday broadcasts live from their campus.
In contrast, NFL tickets have gotten so expensive that the average fan can’t afford to go to the games. It’s getting to the point that NFL stadiums will soon have more luxury suites than regular seats. The seats in the lower sections of the stadiums are beginning to look more and more like corporate shareholders meetings and less like football games. However, the average fan can still afford the upper level tickets (just barely) in NFL stadiums. That really takes away from the atmosphere of the game, when the majority of the die-hard fans are sitting so far from the field, strictly due to the economics of the game. I think it is funny that the NFL stadiums that have the best “atmosphere” like Kansas City and Denver are thought to be so great because they have a college-like atmosphere.
RIVALRIES
In my opinion, this is by far where college football has the advantage over the NFL. There are some great rivalries in the NFL, such as Colts – Patriots, Giants – Cowboys, Chiefs – Broncos, and Packers – Bears just to name a few. Although they are usually very good games that cause a lot of excitement, they can’t hold a candle to the traditional college rivalries. Think about Michigan – Ohio State, Georgia – Florida, Auburn – Alabama, Florida State – Miami, Texas – Oklahoma, and USC – Notre Dame. No matter the state of the programs or the records of each team going into these games, when they meet you can throw out the records. These games excite their fan bases more so than any game does for NFL fans.
STYLES OF PLAY
The college game offers a variety of styles of play, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. There are teams that run the “Spread Offense,” the “Option,” the “Pro-style Offense,” the “Triple Option,” the “West Coast Offense,” the “Shot-Gun Offense,” and a variety of other styles or systems. It makes for some very interesting games. The phase, “Styles make fights,” which is often used in boxing also applies to college football games.
On the other hand, in the NFL everyone basically runs a form of the “West Coast Offense,” a heavy “Shot-Gun Offense,” or the traditional “Pro-style Offense.”
UNIFORMS
As a whole college football teams have much cooler uniforms than NFL teams. Don’t get me wrong there are some really cool uniforms in the NFL, such as the Falcons, the Chargers (powder blue throwbacks), the Denver Broncos, and the Arizona Cardinals, just to name a few. However, Nike really works hard to keep the college teams looking good. The University of Oregon has so many different uniforms that they never have to wear the same combination twice during a season. I have noticed that the new NFL uniforms are starting to look more and more like the college uniforms.
Jersey numbers are also much cooler in college football. The NFL has absolutely ridiculous rules that dictate the jersey numbers that a player can choose according to their position. That rule is about as stupid as the NBA age-limit. Who cares what a uniform number a player chooses. Personally I like to see defensive ends and linebackers wearing single digit numbers. I think it looks really cool. The NFL even fines players for not wearing particular socks or having a tinted helmet visor. They have to have something better to worry about than Clinton Portis’ choice of socks.
POST SEASON
The worst thing about major college football is the fact that they have this stupid Bowl System instead of a playoff system. In college football voters and computer calculations decide who gets to play for the championship. That is the stupidest thing in sports. This is a flawed system on so many levels. By not letting things be decided on the field, you open the door for constant whining by fans, players, and especially coaches. It was an absolute embarrassment for the sport when Auburn was left out of the National Championship game following the 2004 season. They were passed over for Oklahoma, who was beat like Rodney King by the USC Trojans. It is a shame that although all three teams were undefeated, Auburn was passed over because they started the season ranked lower.
I almost forgot, you can’t get rid of the bowl system and implement a playoff system. If you do that, we will no longer have the GMAC Bowl, the Music City Bowl, the Smurf-Turf Bowl, or the all-important Emerald Nut Bowl. What on Earth would we do without all of these games between six and seven win teams?
The NFL on the other hand has the best playoff format in all of sports. It is very simple. If you win your division, you are in the playoffs. There are also two wild-card spots per conference, which gives teams that can’t win the division something to continue to play hard for.
COACHING
Do I really need to go into any detail here? I will simply make one statement. THE VAST MAJORITY OF COLLEGE HEAD COACHES (EVEN THE “GENIUSES”) CAN’T CUT IT IN THE NFL. If you don’t believe me, think about Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, Bobby Petrino, Butch Davis, and Lou Holtz just to name a few. NFL coaches are simply more knowledgeable about the game and work harder to be successful.
TALENT
The talent gap between major college football and the NFL is ridiculously wide, as it should be. The fact that there are approximately 120 Division 1 college football teams with 85 scholarship players each compared to 32 NFL teams with 53 player each should explain the talent gap. Over the years there have been many college football players that people thought were great that just couldn’t cut it in the NFL. I am sure that you remember the stellar NFL careers of Jason White, Eric Crouch, Chris Weinke, Danny Wuerffel, Andre Ware, and the GREAT GINO TORRETTA. Oh, you don’t? Me either, and all of these players won the Heisman Trophy, which allegedly makes them the best player in college football.
The size and speed combination of NFL players is absolutely ridiculous. There are defensive ends in the NFL that are fast enough to catch such speedsters as Reggie Bush and Michael Vick from behind (given the proper angle). There are wide receivers in the NFL that are big enough to be defensive ends in the college game.
The talent is also more evenly distributed in the NFL than in the college game. Colleges build their teams through recruiting. This basically means that it is possible for a couple of teams to amass all of the talent and leave the programs with less money to pay their players with the scraps. This talent gap means that there will be a lot of 65 – 14 games over the course of the season. These types of games even take place within the same conference. Watch the USC v/s Arizona game. The average margin of victory in Division 1 college football is close to 20 points per game, as opposed to an NFL of slightly more than three points. Due to the fact that the talent is so close among NFL teams, any team can win on ANY GIVEN SUNDAY!!!!
Although we all have NFL players that we think are terrible (think Brodie Croyle, Fred Smoot, Fred Thomas, Alex Smith, Rex Grossman), we must remember that everyone in the NFL is a good football player. The things that they can do on the football field are simply amazing.
QUALITY OF THE GAME
The quality of play in the NFL is so much better than that of the college game, that they really shouldn’t both be called football. This is of course due to several of the factors that were mentioned earlier. First of all, the quality of the coaching In the NFL is so much better than that of the college game. The NFL game is usually a more crisply played game with fewer penalties, which can be attributed to the fact that the players are professionals. The routes are very precise, the hits are much harder, the backs hit the hole much quicker, the blocks are more devastating, the plays are more intricate, and the game is so detailed. When it comes to precision and execution, the NFL is head and shoulders above college football. For instance, a receiver in college football is considered open when he has three yards on a defender. On the other hand, an NFL receiver is considered open when he has one step on the defender. The NFL quarterback then has to be able to get the ball to that receiver, while keeping it away from the defender.
THE STUPIDEST THING ABOUT COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Although this entry is about comparing college football to the NFL, I must get off the subject for a second and rant about what I believe is the stupidest thing about college football. I don’t understand PRESEASON RANKINGS!!!! How in the world can you rank teams before you see them play? Two things have happened this week that don’t make any sense to me. First East Carolina started the season unranked. Apparently this was a mistake because they have proven to be better than Virginia Tech (ranked 17th at the time) and West Virginia (ranked 8th at the time). After these two victories the Pirates have finally proven worthy of being ranked, they are 14th in this week’s poll. How do you explain this? The other thing that leaves me puzzled is that fact that Georgia started the season ranked number one and won their first game rather convincingly, yet they were jumped in the polls by USC. Basically the same people who thought they were the best team before the season, punished them a week later for winning like they should. Now I am by no means a Georgia fan, but this is ridiculous. I know that all college sports have pre-season rankings, but they are especially stupid in football because more often than not you final poll position is affected by your starting poll position. Remember there is no playoff system, so it will not be decided on the field. Also, remember that the voters do not always watch the games. They simply read box scores or watch SportsCenter. What a way to decide who is better!
THE EXPERIENCE OR THE GAME
As I stated earlier, the college and NFL games are very different and everyone is entitled to have their preferences. These are the two most popular sports in America (NFL is #1 followed by College Football at #2), so we know that a lot of people really enjoy both of them. Personally I like college football, but I absolutely LOVE THE NFL. Based on my observations of football fans that I have come across, I feel as though college football fans are usually people who love the experience of the game, while NFL fans are people who love football!
Which do you prefer, THE EXPERIENCE OR THE GAME?
****NOTE (on a totally different subject)****
I found it rather amusing that Daunte Culpepper retired from the NFL. I wasn't aware that you can retire from a league when you are not currently in the league (he was not on a roster). If the knee injury suffered by Tom Brady is serious and he is out for the season or an extended portion of this season and the Patriots call Daunte Culpepper, do you really think that he is going to tell them, NO THANKS, I'M RETIRED? I don't think so, which means that he is not retired, he is simply not on a team.
****COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAY****
WE ARE NOW 58 DAYS AWAY FROM ELECTION DAY!!!! ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE? IF NOT DO SO TODAY!!!! STAND UP AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!!!!
6 comments:
Northside Marty checking in from Zone 2! It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you, without a dope post for you to read to (read to, read to, read read read to).
First of all, MY Atlanta Falcons played "exciting" football today so Carlos will be jumping back on the bandwagon shortly. I don't mean to rip on you here Carlos, but as one of your loyal readers I think I've earned that right.
I've developed a theory called Northside Marty's Theory of Carlos's Bandwagoness. I'd like to thank GT for providing me with the education to develop said theory. According to Carlos, he will only be a fan of "exciting" teams. He told me that at work. 95% of the time, the only type of exciting football is winning football. Therefore, 95% of the time, Carlos will only like a team IF they are winning. Since the definition of a fair weather bandwagon fan is a person who only likes a team when they are winning, I can conclude that Carlos is a bandwagon fan 95% of the time. I'll be staying late after class if any of you need extra help to understand this novel concept.
Moving on to my magical thoughts about this post. I am a fan of college football. I'm just gonna put that out there up front. I'm also a fan of the NFL, but I like college better.
My first point of contention with your post comes from the line: In contrast, NFL tickets have gotten so expensive that the average fan can’t afford to go to the games.
WHAT!?!? Are you kidding me? It's a MINIMUM initial $10,000 donation just for the right to buy season tickets at UGA! Then you have to pay for the season tickets on top of that at $50 a pop. Oh yeah, you also have to pay about $250 per year after that for your seat license. At UF, you have to pay $200 just get on the waiting list for season tickets. Oh yeah, if you're name doesn't clear the list, they keep your $200. So your statement here is erroneous. Let's take me for example. I am a Georgia Tech season ticket holder as well as an Atlanta Falcons season ticket holder. GT has a fairly mid-level fan base. Some might argue we have a low-level fan base. The donation which I must pay every year to Tech for the right to buy one seat is $300. The cost of the tickets are $265. So, I pay $565 for 7 home games which puts the average game at $80.71. My Falcons tickets, which are in a comparable location to my Tech seats, cost me $89 per game. That's a whopping difference of $8.29 per game. SO your point here is moot (UGA and NO Saints fans...moot is the same thing as mute. Don't worry about it if you don't get it) Remember, GT has a lower donation requirement than most schools. I'd say 9 out of 12 SEC school college football tickets are more expensive than NFL tickets.
Now, your next point I am going to contend: The NFL on the other hand has the best playoff format in all of sports.
This is true, but if you're gonna rag on college football here, at least give them props that their regular season is the most exciting regular season in all of sports. There is no doubt about this and I don't need to get into the "every game is a playoff game in college regular season" speech which I somewhat not totally agree with.
Now, your next point: THE VAST MAJORITY OF COLLEGE HEAD COACHES (EVEN THE “GENIUSES”) CAN’T CUT IT IN THE NFL. This works both ways, dude! Al Groh and Dave Wannstedt come to mind. I could go on but I'm tired. Yes, Pete Carrol is great at USC. But so was Jimmy Johnson with the Cowboys.
I have a few more points to make, but I'm going to bed.
PS - I didn't reread this post so I apologize for any grammatical errors.
Northside Marty checking out...MENTION BUCKHEAD AND ACKNOWLEDGE ME.
Good Morning USA!!! Thank God that the NFL has begun! I was beginning to nod off to all these college games. No offense to the college fan, it's really cute watching these kids attempting to run routes, make big hits, throw an accurate pass, etc. It's like watching POP WARNER compared to the NFL.
I don't know about ticket prices, "atmosphere", and all that other rhetoric. What I do know is football. It's no debate to what game is better. No really, a good friend of mine use to say(Carlos) "You're entitled to your opinion, but you're wrong". The NFL is the highest level of the greatest sport on the planet. How can it be 2nd to college?
I may be wrong, but those who love college football more than pro football have room for a larger margin of error. They have more time on their hands too. College games take journeys. The Pro game is straight to the point and it is a mental chess game by the coaches being visually executed by the players. Simply beautiful.
I hate to use this analogy, but it truly fits. College is like a malt liquor. It gets you get tipsy quick and you get alot for a cheap price. But once you find out how bad it is compared to a quality beer you soon ween your self away from it. The only time you drink it is when you don't have a choice or you just stop drinking it all together.
***
Oh yeah, then College pisses you off every year b/c of some political B.S.. I've never forgiven them for missing out on Auburn(Jason Campbell, Cadillac, Ronnie Brown, Carlos Dansby) and opting for...Oklahoma? USC drug them like Heroine. Then the year Miami annihilated Nebraska with Eric Crouch...are you kidding?
In response to Straight Cash Homey's opening paragraph I must say that there exists a glaring error. No where in your perfect weekend scenario do I see spending time with your WIFE!!! I'm sure that was just an oversight, but I just thought I would point that out to you.
I took a look at Northside Marty's post and argument as well and let's just saw that the flaws abound. If you want to talk about season tickets and what it takes to be able takes to even have the right to purchase tickets lets take a look at this... Back in the Michael Vick error when people believed the Falcons could go places, there was a waiting list to get on a waiting list and season tickets for a seat that wouldn't make your nose bleed was in the range of $1,000 or more, which I believe was the blogger's point. People can afford the seats in the rafters, just not the ones that get them on Camera and allow them to create the fan atmosphere that exists in college. Also apart of his point was that in college student seats make the big difference in the atmosphere(students don't have to make donations and get their tickets cheap).
As far as the coaching issue goes, your argument is weak there as well. Coaches that go from the NFL to college probably weren't good coaches in the first place so it wouldn't be terribly shocking that they aren't very successful.
I guess I shouldn't be shocked that your writing of a persuasive argument is so lacking since they only teach you GT dorks to play with numbers. Forgive this UGA girl for having a more well rounded education than that and being able to point out your flaws so easily. Further, you don't get to comment until GT gets a win in on UGA in this millenium.
This is the part in the movie when I usually respond to the comments, but the comments this week don't need much of a response. My intent in writting this blog was to simply explain the differences between the two games and allow the reader to decide which one they liked better. I really didn't offer my opinion on the matter, BUT NOW I WILL.
First of all, I would like to thank PHAROAH GOOLSBY & JAMILA for taking the time to explain to NORTHSIDE MARTY hoW ridiculous the majority of his argumentS were. Because of them, I don't have to waste much time on the comments made by Northside Marty. However, I will dispute two of your statements. The first being that there are some former NFL head coaches who did not succeed in the college game. I think that Jamila responded to that statement so eloquently by saying that the NFL coaches that go to the college game, SUCKED AS NFL HEAD COACHES!!!! Trust me Bill Belichick not saying to himself, "Well I have won 3 Super Bowl rings, now all I have to do is go to NC State and prove that I can win in the ACC."
The other point of contention is the one statement that I hate hearing college football fans make about the college regular season being the most exciting regular season in sports. That is also a dumb statement. If the regular season is so important, why are there still teams that finish with the same record but the regular season can't decide who gets to go to which bowl. Also, you can't me that UTEP's regular season is very important this year. They are basically playing to decide if they are going to the Popcorn Bowl or the Lawnmower Bowl.
The NFL regular season is much more important. Just think, because the level of competition is so high and tight in the NFL, there are some teams that will lose tie-breakers to get into the playoffs because of losses in Week 1. Now that is important!
Goolsby said it best by saying, that it is "cute" watching the college kids running around on the field.
Basically my thoughts on the issue are as follows.
College games are fun and exciting, but are a poor display of REAL FOOTBALL. The coaching in college is laughable compared to the NFL. All a college coach has to do is recruit better players than the competition. Basically college coaches are the best in the world at lying to 17 year olds and promising them the world. Simply put, the best talent wins. The skill level of the players in college can't compare to that of the NFL (and it shouldn't because NFL players are professionals). The precision of the two games can not be compared.
Some people also like the exciting "gimmick" offenses that college teams run. To that I say, bring Urban Meyer & company to the NFL with that offense, and I promise you that Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin will be on IR by week three. That junk simply doesn't work in a man's game. The college game allows you to exploit a mismatch with your best players. In the NFL however, once you are successful at something, the other teams will see it on film and it won't work two weeks later. Now that is the impact of coaching!
To tell you the truth I actually like college football, and would be a huge fan of it if the NFL didn't exist. Writting the entry has helped me to realize why I like college football, which is to see who can play in the NFL. I have to stay up to date on the next crop of NFL players. I truly like the experience of college football, but once the whistle blows, GET THE KIDS OFF THE FIELD AND LET THE GROWN MEN PLAY SOME REAL FOOTBALL!!!!
I just had to tell you that there is a rookie tight end in Dallas who, if he stumbles upon this blog, thinks that his coach has strategically placed you online to remind him to keep the ball "high and tight."--That's a shout out to everyone who watches "Hard Knocks" on HBO.
OK I need to step in and make a few points about this post and the comments. Full disclosure - I like college football more than the NFL, but I am a big fan of both. I am tilting my comments more towards college football than I normally would just because other people have already made some great points about the NFL (that I largely agree with).
Ticket Prices - I think both College and Pro tickets for any decent team are out of the reach of the casual fan. You have teams with millions of fans but at most 40-100k seats available, so there is nothing teams can do. If they lowered the prices, scalpers and 3rd parties would just push the prices back up on the secondary market. At least the money actually goes to the teams. The good news is that we have tons of football on TV that still makes the game accessible to everyone. Bad team tickets are cheap/easy to come by, good team tickets are unavailable to anyone not willing to spend a car payment for 3 hours of entertainment. Whether it is college or pro doesn't matter.
Post Season - This is college football's big black eye. There have been times when I have considered starting a grassroots campaign to start withholding support at the individual school level to force the school Presidents to change this system. Lucky for them I actually have a life outside football so I am stuck with just complaining heavily during December and January of every year when I am reminded about how bad this system sucks. I don't understand how the same people that bring us the greatest sporting event in the world, the NCAA basketball tournament, can also give us the worst post season in the world.
Coaching - On the field, the NFL coaches are the best in the world. I don't think you can argue that any other way except by digging up a few exceptions. However, college coaches face many more challenges than NFL coaches. First, they have to coach 18 year olds who are away from home for the first time and not getting paid (legally at least). Second, college coaches are both head coaches and general managers. Yes, I know college coaches have Athletic Directors, but these ADs are not personnel guys - it is the head coach who is out there doing the recruiting. Lastly, even with free agency, the NFL teams do not have the kind of player turnover that a college coach does. College coaches have on average a 25% turnover every year - so every 2 years they basically have a totally different team. So, NFL coaches definitely work harder and put in longer days, but they can generally stay focused on one thing - the X's and O's. At the end of the day I don't think you can really compare college and NFL coaches - they are totally different jobs.
Quality of the Game - The biggest problem college has here is that there are 100+ D-IA schools vs 32 NFL teams, so you are going to get a bunch of mismatched games. This sucks and there is really nothing you can do about it. That said, when you do get some top-25 matchups, I think the games are highly enjoyable. Of course the players are not as good in college, but the college game allows some great athletes who have more raw ability and less specialized finesse to be able to shine and make the game exciting. In other words, NFL players are not only great athletes, but they are the lucky athletes who also happen to have exact physical dimensions to make it in the NFL. This is not always a good thing. For example, I would much rather watch Joe Hamilton play (at any level) than Matt Hasselbeck. The problem is Joe Hamilton is 5' 10", so a great athlete and exciting player was left on the sideline.
Fans - Here is where I take great exception to Carlos' original post. Whether he meant it or not, he implies that NFL fans are more sophisticated than college fans. I am going to break this down a bit more. First, there are more college fans in the country than NFL fans. This means that you are going to get a wider range of fan sophistication. The less sophisticated college fan thinks with their heart, not their head (see the 80,000 that pack Williams-Brice Stadium year after year for a team that never wins anything). So, if you pull out a random college fan you are probably not going to get one of the more sophisticated ones, just based on the probability. What I am getting at is that if you take the top 100,000 most informed college fans and put them against the top 100,000 most informed NFL fans, they are going to be equivalent in their sophistication. But when you go to the other side of the fan base, you are going to end up with my grandmother who went to Ohio State and is a huge buckeye fan, but couldn't tell you who their head coach is. She is a fan with her heart, not her head.
Lastly, Carlos's assessment is also based on his location. Being in Atlanta, he is in the heart of college football country, where the number of casual fans is going to greatly outnumber the casual NFL fans. In places like New York and the Northeast, where college football is weak, you have the opposite - you have really casual NFL fans who really know nothing except that they like the Eagles and they want to beat up those who do not.
At any rate, I've rambled on enough. In conclusion, no one can argue that the players and coaches are not the best at the NFL level, but when I think back to my favorite football moments as a fan, almost all of them are college football moments, not NFL moments, and that is including games for which I had no preference in the winner.
Post a Comment