The NFL is more popular than college football.
So why are some of us so obsessed with college football? Serious question. Let’s get creative and think outside the box shall, we?
Well, there’s no denying that college teams have a much bigger audience than NFL squads. Plus, there are numerous variations of the game and all its intricacies.
However, let’s not delude ourselves: college sports aren’t as competitive as their pro counterparts. So we shouldn’t overreact to small things such as a losing team or an under performing player. Basically, if you’re still wondering why you should be wary of fellow fanatics, here are six good reasons:
College Football Is Popular
College football is America’s most popular sport, so it’s no wonder that so many of us are fans. In fact, the 2017 season was the most-watched since the 2006 season. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has more than 1,400 member schools and more than 130,000 athletes participating in more than 6,000 different intercollegiate sports.
And there are more than 275,000 college football fans watching the game on television at any given time. That’s a lot of people watching the same thing week after week. There’s definitely a lot of appeal to college football, including the huge television audience, the passion of the fans, and the exciting storylines of young players trying to make a name for themselves in the pros.
You’re All About The Upsets
College football is a game of upsets, and many of the most memorable games will have an underdog pulling off a shocking victory. In fact, the 2015 college football season is widely considered the best ever in terms of upsets. The season started off with Alabama being upset by Florida State and continued with underdog teams winning in a wide variety of different ways. There were three games decided by a single point, three games decided by seven points or less, and another game where the winner was determined by a field goal as time expired. The common thread running through all these upsets? The underdog team.
Each of these closely contested games featured teams that were expected to be in the middle of the pack but instead found themselves as the big winners. We’re betting that the same thing will happen again in the upcoming season, from the start of the season through the bowl season and into the early part of the draft season.
There’s Bias In Favor Of The Home Team
One of the easiest ways for fans to get into their college football fandom is to root for their hometown team. This is especially true of college football, where fans strongly favor their home state teams. That means that fans of the Alabama Crimson Tide have an advantage, because most people in Alabama are also Crimson Tide fans. Of course, the same goes for any other team.
If you’re a fan of the University of Texas, you probably have an advantage over a fan of the University of Cincinnati because you know the ins and outs of the state. You know which high schools, stadiums, and cities matter most to Longhorns fans. Of course, you also have an advantage over someone who is a fan of a team from a different state who is unfamiliar with the teams from their home state.
College Fandom Is Controversial
We’ve already mentioned that college sports aren’t as competitive as the pros, but that isn’t the only reason that college football has a more controversial fandom than the pros. College fans also tend to be more politically engaged. As our country continues to grapple with issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation, many fans have found themselves drawn to college football as a way to discuss their views.
While most NFL fans are happy to wear their team loyalties on their sleeves, college football fans have been known to wear shirts that say “I Stand For” on them. College football also has a reputation for being more “politically correct” than the pros, which can make it a great place to discuss sensitive topics. That’s not to say that NFL fans don’t discuss sensitive issues. It’s just that it’s less likely to become a full-blown controversy than college football does.
College Fanatics Tend To Be Extremely Opinionated
Finally, college football fans tend to be much more opinionated than NFL fans. That means that you’ll encounter a much broader range of opinions, which can make it easier to find a conversation partner. This is especially true if you attend college in a major city, where you may encounter fans of opposing teams living in the very same city.
That means that even if you’re a singleton, you can find a college fan who will talk to you about any topic you want to discuss, even if it’s your least-favorite subject. We’ve all had those awkward conversations at parties where you want to talk about politics or sports but don’t know anyone in the room. College football fans can help you avoid those situations by inviting you to talk about sports.
Coaches Matter More Than Players Do
One of the best parts about college football is the constant turnover that occurs with coaching staffs. For example, if your team loses, chances are that the head coach will be gone the next year. That means that you never know what you’re going to get with the new coach.
The same goes for the players: you never know what you’re going to get with the next recruit. If a team wants to hire a famous coach from another program, they’ll usually have to hire a player from that coach’s team as well. That’s not always the case in the NFL, where coaches with no recent winning records are often retained. That means that you can’t count on any one player.
Final Thoughts
We’ve shown that college football is a more popular sport than the pros, has more upsets and controversy, and is more opinionated and unpredictable. And, we’ve also shown that college football is less competitive than the pros and you can never count on any one player or coach. So, why would anyone want to watch the pros? If you fall into one of the groups we’ve described, then college football is for you. College football is a lot of fun, and it’s a whole lot more unpredictable than the NFL. So, you might as well enjoy it while you can!