UNITED STATES—This is a debate that has been ongoing for years. What is more interesting to watch, college football or professional football? There are pros and cons to each, but in my personal opinion, I’ve always been an avid fan of college football more.
Does this mean I tune out NFL games, no, but they just don’t have the same amount of intensity as a college game personally? For starters, you have to examine who is playing. In the professional arena, the ages range from mid-20s to early 40s. Some of the players are veterans, some are hot-heads, some our newbies, it’s quite a mix of people, which should create interesting football games, but that’s not always the case.
When it comes to college, its apparent all of the players are in their late teens to early 20s. There tends to be much more on the line in the college arena. The athletes are actually playing for something. Rather it is their college scholarship, to gain notoriety or to edge themselves that much closer in the professional arena. They are fighting for their lives each week in my opinion.
When you look at the NFL, most of the players who have quote on quote, “made it,” know they’re getting a check and can care less to some degree what transpires. Scratch that, some of them care, if they know their job is on the line. Some would then argue, why in the world would Cleveland Browns superstar Johnny Manziel flick the finger during a pre-season game this past Sunday against the Washington Redskins? Not only does it show a level of immaturity in the player, but it becomes apparent that because he’s now in the NFL such behavior may be acceptable. Not quite, but ask yourself this, would he have done that in the college arena, probably not.
Watching a college football game can be like a marathon, but its fun from start to finish. Epic plays, unbelievable comebacks and team camaraderie shine from the TV screen. The same sentiment can be seen in the NFL, but the players seem to shrug off loses as if they don’t matter to begin with. Well, guess what we always have next Sunday, appears to be the theory. In college football, getting to that championship game is not an easy task. Losing just one game can be the difference from having a stellar season to a so-so season as some would call it. In the NFL, teams with a 7-9 record can make it into the playoffs and to the Super Bowl, while participants in a different division with a 10-6 record are slighted. Come on, what gives, that’s so not fair.
I am eagerly counting down the next week or so before college football is back on the horizon, NFL is great, but it’s something about attending football games on Saturday that just make the day that much more invigorating. Sunday football is great, but until the day that NFL games obtain the intensity of a college game, I’ll always be in an advocate for college football hands down.
By LaDale Anderson
