I often have this discussion with my friends about what is better, College or Pro football? I am a professional football fan first but I have thought about this a lot. Here are my Top Five reasons to watch the NFL over the NCAA.
5. Both make money, but at least the pro players make money (legally). Texas made 120 million dollars on football last year, and all the players got was free college. As a college student, I know how important college funds can be, but don't the players deserve a piece of the pie? The school gets money for selling number 15 Florida jerseys, but Tebow won't ever see a dime. Ohio State gets a cut of the video game profits but Pryor won't ever get a check. The players put in a lot of time (some more than others, Michigan), and deserve more than what they get. The NFL may overpay their players, but at least they make money.
4. Every game truly matters in the NFL. Yeah, every game of college football matters, but how many boring games are there a week. I don't want to see Michigan play Eastern Michigan, Michigan State play Montana State or Florida play the Florida International. We barely see meaningful non conference games anymore so that makes almost a third of the season worthless. The BCS doesn't factor in strength of schedule so who cares? Conference schedules are usually pretty good, but they don't make up for the start of the season. In the NFL, every week is usually competitive (this season is a fluke with so many good and bad teams) and the playoffs are usually settled on the last game of the year.
3. The talent level is much more equal. Even in these recent years where college football is evening out a little bit, the top teams are far superior to weaker teams. Look at conferences even, whats the difference Oregon and Arizona State? Alabama and Vanderbilt? Texas and Kansas State? The difference is too much to balance anything out. You can almost pick with certainty who will win conferences at the beginning of the year. The NFL sees almost 50% turnover in division winners and playoff teams every year. The Dolphins and Falcons went to the playoffs after awful seasons. I'd bet a ton of money that Vanderbilt doesn't win the SEC next season.
2. Its better football. Who doesn't want to see tons of vertical passing and quick running backs blowing past defenders? The spread is based on short passing and running. The spread is making its way into the NFL but still its just more entertaining to see NFL football. Their are usually less blowouts and higher scoring by both teams. You are watching the best athletes playing the best football with the best coaches. Its going to produce good football.
1. There are playoffs. We know far and away who is the champion of pro football. There isn't any doubt who the number 1 team in the league is. 12 out of 32 teams make the playoffs and all 12 teams have a shot at winning it all (a 6 seed has won the Super Bowl before) and usually many teams are gunning for a few spots in the regular season. By about Thanksgiving the NFL really heats up and becomes even better. Sunday and Monday Night Football use flex scheduling to get the best games on prime time. College sees such a difference in conferences that some teams need to win their cupcake schedule (example: Texas 2009) and they have their ticket to the championship game. Playoffs in college football would be ideal, but the same stupid excuses are used now that were in 1999 and will be used in 2019.
The NFL will be better than college football for some time, until college football can even out the talent levels on teams and conferences and make a legitimate playoff system to serve the entire league the best. I love both college and pro football, but I would rather watch the NFL any day.
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