Why College football blows away the NFL (Michigan featured)
I concur. College runs circles around boring NFL.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/austin_murphy/08/13/colle…
August 13th, 2010 at 5:42 PM ^
I love that the Big House is featured here. I'm so excited to be in the stands again...
August 13th, 2010 at 5:42 PM ^
The Game, as it is known in the heartland, packs more history and hatred than any other rivalry, not just in college football but also, arguably, in all of sport.
I'd like to hear an argument that any other rivalry is better.
August 13th, 2010 at 6:16 PM ^
For four years, the students at these two schools are utterly absorbed by their campuses. The military attitude and lifestyle at West Point and Annapolis precludes any distractions in a way that no civilian university can repeat. For underclassmen, there is none (or very little) nightlife, no escapes to bars or nightclubs to shake off the pressure of classes or reduce the way you are forced into a mold and made a part of a greater whole.
But the Army/Navy rivalry isn't just about the actions of the two teams on the field, the two schools, or even the antipathy between their two classes of alumni. It's about the conflict and cooperation between two branches of the military, something that dates back almost 230 years, far longer than any American university rivalry.
While Michigan and Ohio State might boast two of the largest alumni bases of any American university, Army and Navy also draw the support of the ordinary men and women in uniform who didn't go to those schools. They didn't attend West Point, but because they're in the U.S. Army, Army football is their team.
But beyond the rivalry on the field, these two teams fight for funding in the halls of Congress, they fight for space in a crowded barracks in Diego Garcia, Baghdad, Kandahar, or some other godforsaken place. They fight with words and cheers, but when it's all over, they fight with guns, missiles and bombs. When it's all over, they're forced to rely upon the men and women they were cheering against. They have to believe that those they were just hoping would lose a football game will work with them and win something far more important.
That, to me, is the perfect example of competition and cooperation and what it means both on the field and off.
August 13th, 2010 at 6:31 PM ^
When two academy alums run into each other they salute one another. That is not a rivalry.
When I see someone wearing an OSU t-shirt (whether they be an elderly woman, a young child, or just some poor schmuck who got the thing for free) I have to restrain myself from attempting to light the thing on fire and/or throw the offending person into a dumpster. That is a rivalry.
Also, I've never met a single person in the military who isn't an academy grad that actually gives a shit about academy football.
August 13th, 2010 at 6:59 PM ^
offset by impulse control. Rivalry is competition. Passions make rivalries better. So does hatred founded on respect.
Felonies do not.
August 13th, 2010 at 10:34 PM ^
As a military guy who didn't go to an Academy, we do give a shit about academy football--just like Michigan fans care about MSU, we hope they both lose every game by obscene margins.
August 14th, 2010 at 3:02 AM ^
Nice post, however I have to disagree with a couple things. First and foremost I was in the Army. I can tell you nobody I knew gave a crap about Army Football. We all still loved and cheered for the teams we cheered for when we were 12. Those normal soldiers you see at Army/Navy games are usually given free tickets(and for good reason) and have to be in uniform. Of course if your wearing your army uniform, were given a free ticket to a game, your going to cheer for army. However most of those same people go home after that game and cheer harder for Georgia, Oklahoma or USC.
Army/Navy is a great rivalry on the field but it does not compare in sport to UM/OSU.
August 14th, 2010 at 8:42 AM ^
It’s for the ring knocking officers. An enlisted Army buddy would root for Navy, and as a Navy enlisted I would root for Army. As far as the Boat went, I don’t remember shit about Army/Navy but there were heated wars over traditional rivals from OCS(non academy guys).
August 13th, 2010 at 5:49 PM ^
ESPN would probably argue that Yankees/Redsox is the best rivalry. Because they're.... dumb
August 13th, 2010 at 5:58 PM ^
And yet a meaningless preseason NFL game more than tripled the vaunted Red Sox/Yankee rivalry game last Sunday! Baseball is BORING!!
August 13th, 2010 at 11:38 PM ^
I have been a pretty serious Yankee fan for almost 30 years (third generation Yankee fan, actually). Grew up hating the sox.
I have been a Mighigan fan for 18 years (since around by jr year of high school).
As a part of both rivalries, I can tell you that it isn't even close - Michigan / OSU is the greatest rivalry in sports.
August 14th, 2010 at 2:21 AM ^
It's up there for pro sports rivalries (the only close contenders I can come up with are Lakers-Celtics, Packers-Bears, and maybe a couple of Original Six NHL rivalries). But none of those even come close to the top dozen or so college football rivalries, not to mention a few college basketball and hockey rivalries.
August 14th, 2010 at 8:12 AM ^
It all comes down to the lack of passion pro athletes have towards their teams. They are there for one reason, the money. College athletes are recruited by schools and they choose the program they feel best with, thus meaning they totally engulf themselves in the university. You will always have those that transfer, and transferring to a rival is sacrilegious (Boren I am speaking of you).
College athletes, for the most part, are playing to defend their university (some accept money and gifts from boosters) and therefore the Pro sports leagues can never match the passion of college athletics. All you have to look at is Shaq, he played for LA and now Boston. This is suppose to be the biggest rivalry in the NBA, yet no one cares that he has played for both. Back to Boren for a second, just think how pissed off you were after you heard about this traitor.
August 14th, 2010 at 3:12 AM ^
I was going to agree with you but then I remembered ESPN listed OSU/UM is the top rivalriy of the century.
August 13th, 2010 at 6:18 PM ^
I don't know what it is about college football that keeps us so absorbed. I won't bat an eye if I make plans that would cause me to miss a Lions game (although they are terrible, but still). However, on at least two occassions I have bent heaven and earth to be able to watch Michigan games while I attended ill conceived fall wedding ceremonies or receptions held at places without readily available TVs (once I spent significant time at a bar down the road, the other time I sat glued to the radio in a corner of the room), and this doesn't even count the numerous occassions that I have immediately fled to the closest TV at the first available moment. Many people just don't get it. Although, I must give props to Packer fans, who have been known to do crazy things to watch their games. In the UP, many Packer fans leaned on representative bart Stupak to get the NFL network to release the rights to the Packers-Cowboys game in 2008. The NFL network was not available up there at the time to a lot of people. Stupak (a family friend I should say), undoubtedly guaging the political winds, used his influence, and the game was seen in the UP on local broadcast affiliates.
August 13th, 2010 at 6:30 PM ^
The NFL has "rivalries," but they are no where near as cool or intense as CFB ones. People are also more attached to their teams, usually because they went there.
August 13th, 2010 at 6:35 PM ^
The Game is certainly a great rivalry but I don't think I'd describe it as packing more hatred than any other in sports. When I think of rivalries loaded with "hate" , something more like the Redwings/Avalanche come to mind. I mean, I didn't just want to beat them, I wanted Claude Lemeiuex's head on stick.
In contrast, Michigan/Osu is an exceptionally great rivalry because of it's respect between the teams. I want to beat them, but I don't feel a psychotic need to kill them. Frankly, if there is a rival to Michigan that I would most likely describe as based on "hate" it would probably be Notre Dame.
August 13th, 2010 at 6:42 PM ^
Anyone who has can assure you that they definitely hate us. Spend a November afternoon in the Horseshoe and my guess is the feeling will be mutual.
August 13th, 2010 at 7:35 PM ^
Ever since visiting Columbus a few years ago for the Game I now believe that every true Michigan fan should make the journey down south at least once in their lives. I wen't to Columbus despising that school and left absolutely hating them. It only takes a few hours. Go there and all ill feelings towards the scarlet and grey will absolutely be intensified.
August 13th, 2010 at 11:37 PM ^
It's interesting that in my time in Columbus the actual tUofOSU students/staff/alumni who I met were pretty reasonable (at least not violent) whereas the "townies" and non affiliated fans were complete asshats. I left thinking it must suck to be a student at tUofOSU in the first place but having to live among those cretins would make it 10x worse.
August 13th, 2010 at 6:48 PM ^
I would almost consider the "hatred" of the OSU-UM game to be more fiery competitiveness. And I think it has more of that than the Wings-Avs used to have. Wings and Avs had alot of respect for each others' playing ability I'm sure (Claude Lemeiuex notwithstanding)
One of the great things about college rivalries is that they last longer than pro ones because college rivalries rotate players all the time and still maintain a high level of animosity. As for the Wings-Avs rivalry, it's not even close to what it was in the mid-late 90s, early 2000s. Virtually all the players involved are gone, and I don't know about you, but I don't get the same feel for a Wings-Avs game as I once did. I always get the same feeling for an UM-OSU game no matter what. Yankees-Red Sox is about the only other rivalry that seems to have maintained that level of animosity. Duke-UNC as well, but not nearly for as long as that's a fairly new rivalry.
August 13th, 2010 at 7:07 PM ^
It's like picking between your children. And I wouldnt want to live without one of them
That said, I igive the nod to college for many of the reasons stated in the link
August 13th, 2010 at 7:24 PM ^
The way this appeared on the sidebar, i read it "Why College football blows". I got excited 'cause I thought there was going to be a negbang, but unfortunately, I think those days are behind us.
(and this is the part where I get negbanged...please show mercy!)
August 13th, 2010 at 7:30 PM ^
Am I the only one who didn't know Stanford's band drove a "bloody" Bronco around the stadium? Wow!
August 13th, 2010 at 9:48 PM ^
Check the article again, I think you added the bloody part.
August 13th, 2010 at 10:31 PM ^
I looked at some other sources while desperately trying to find video.
August 13th, 2010 at 11:34 PM ^
August 14th, 2010 at 12:20 AM ^
Great Article!
August 14th, 2010 at 3:11 AM ^
I have said this for years. Nothing Compares to college football. The rivalries, the stadiums, the passion of the fans. You dont get that in the NFL. The offenses are boring, it just isn't as fun. Great article!
August 14th, 2010 at 7:00 AM ^
Amazing how very few NFL stadiums have as much capacity as a college football stadium. Jerry Jones' brand new venture in Dallas is probably the only one that even comes close.
I used to believe NFL was better but I was ignorant, and I was simply focused on the BCS. Now that I have followed CFB for a longer period of time, I've pretty much ignored the BCS and accepted it. CFB is definitely better, the atmosphere in a game is simply amazing.
August 14th, 2010 at 8:29 AM ^
College football is much more intense due to the rivalries and it's just so dang unpredictable to the point that preseason rankings are useless.
August 14th, 2010 at 9:13 AM ^
August 14th, 2010 at 10:59 AM ^
but you are right. The NFL post season is amazing. I can sit down and watch any game in the playoffs and it is typically a great game. A random Bowl Game on the other hand takes a lot of luck to catch a really great game.
I think it all stems from the life is on the line type mentality playoffs bring. NCAA you should note this.
August 14th, 2010 at 10:17 AM ^
I don't know what is but to me college football is the best sport bar none. I like watching the NFL and try not to miss games but if I even miss one Michigan game it's like my life is going to end, even if it's just a cupcake team I HAVE to watch it. I just feel compelled to watch all things college football.
August 14th, 2010 at 12:09 PM ^
NFL games are very precise, accurate games with the best football players in the country perfectly executing perfect plays. In a sense, they're almost too perfect.
College games have much more variety when it comes to play scheme, and the underdog usually has a much better chance, making games more exciting overall. It's just more fun to watch.
August 14th, 2010 at 12:56 PM ^
To declare one level of the game definitively better than the other is inherently ridiculous. You may prefer watching college football more, but that doesn't make it "better" than pro football. I'll wager if you grew up outside Foxboro, you'll find Patriots games a whole lot more compelling than even Ohio State-Michigan, while in SEC country, you wouldn't trade Florida-Alabama for Falcons-Saints in a million years. Sports fandom is an increasingly regionalist entity; in the Midwest, we're essentially divided down the middle between college and pro fandom, having a recent history of success at both levels (except for the Lions and Browns, I suppose).
August 14th, 2010 at 2:59 PM ^
It was 1997. Driving from Cincy to AA. Meeting my brother up there for The Game. We are undefeated. Buckeyes were having a rough year. Those were the days . We OWNED them. I was driving and it was early morning sun had just come up. Started snowing Ufer tape playing.. My mind was wandering. We were gonna destroy them. Not a shred of doubt in my mind. As my mind wandered I began to feel a little bit sorry for those poor OSU fans who were going to suffer thru another beatdown. A melancholy moment? I don't know, I'd never felt it before. Right in the middle of that thought, as I drove on I75 south of Toledo, thru the snow on the overpass ahead I see a group of 5 or 6 Buckeye fans jumping and waving huge O flags that snapped me out of it. I flashed my lights, rolled down my window and held the bird high. My M flag in rear window fluttered as I yelled F you and thought to myself.....Screw those idiots! WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING? That's college football. ......Rest of the day went good too.
August 14th, 2010 at 5:03 PM ^
But I suspect there are rivals outside US borders that could compete with it. Celtic-Rangers comes to mind, or India-Pakistan in cricket.