Why You Should Care About College Football, Probably More Than Even The NFL
JOHN ANGELILLO. Shutterstock Images.Marty Mush penned a blog talking about why you shouldn't care about college football. The crux of the argument was we "know" who will be in the playoff each year so what's the point? The point is college football is better than the NFL for a whole host of reasons. It's more than just who is going to win the national championship.
Now, is the level of play at the NFL more consistent and better? Of course, those guys are the best in the land to lace up the cleats (Shout to the boys Taylor Lewan and Will Compton). But college football is better because, to borrow from the SEC, it just means more.
At the end of the day, it means more because for many people their school is a part of them. You feel as though it is family. I don't care how many years you've rooted for an NFL team, short of playing/working for a team, that team largely doesn't care about you. Sure they say they love their fans. But if that were true, would NFL teams pick up and move to a new city? No.
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If you or someone in your family didn't go to a school with a football team, I could see how you could support Marty's argument. Heck, even if you rode the bench for a D3 football team at some no name school in some no name town, I could also see you supporting the argument - even though you wore a football uniform, playing in front of 25 people doesn't exactly scream excitement. If you can't turn on the TV on Saturdays and see your alma mater or your parents' alma mater then it is much harder to get involved. You may not always love your team but your school will always love you. Your school won't pick up in the middle of the night and move cities.
Look around - me, Dave, Dan, Brandon Fiona Walker, Kayce, Reags, Large, Big T, Nate, Hubbs, Big Ev, Carl, Mintzy, Alex Bennet, Jeff D Lowe, Katie Stats, Taylor, and Will. Most of these folks care about their college team more than any pro team. Look at what Dana Beers is doing trying to pick a college team because he feels left out!
The NFL has the Super Bowl. The NFL used to also have the Pro Bowl (RIP).
College has Army/Navy, Michigan/Ohio St, Iron Bowl, Red River Shootout, The Big House, the Horseshoe, Rose Bowl, and too many more traditions that I can't even type because I don't have enough space on this blog. Those are special. Even if you didn't go to a school that plays on TV, you can latch onto a big program like thousands of Catholics who blindly like Notre Dame despite the fact that their IQs don't support admission and then just enjoy all the pageantry, tradition, and excitement of college football.
Again, if you have no connection to a school it's easy to dismiss college football, say there is no parody, and wait for Sundays. I'd argue you're simply missing the forrest through the trees with that take. It's more than who is going to be in the playoff - it's the entire journey toward the playoff.
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PS. Credit to me for making it this entire blog without mentioning that I played and coached at Army and I'm in NCAA Football 2005. The old me would've mentioned that in the first sentence. #Growth