Topic: Why do some people prefer college sports to pro?

[Govtcheez]

(I am one of these people)

If you think about it, there really isn't much of a reason to, especially if you didn't go to the school you are rooting for.  The level of competition and skill is much much higher in the pros, and most of us are fortunate enough to live geographically nearby pro sports teams.  But there are still lots of people out there, who, for whatever reason, love NCAA football but don't watch the NFL.

I'm a diehard MSU fan, even though I didn't go there.  I count the days until football season starts and follow them intently.  Same deal with their basketball team.  I don't follow the Pistons except very casually, and didn't even when they were good.  I hardly follow the Lions either, but I think that's mostly because their games are blacked out a lot.  I really have no justification

[ober]

I'm sure there is some hidden 'underdog' feelings of watching 'rising stars' or some shit behind it all.  I think college level sports are sometimes more exciting than pro sports.  That's definitely true for basketball.  I'd much rather watch a college basketball game than an NBA game. 

I'm indifferent when it comes to football.  I think they're both equally exciting to watch and I probably follow the NFL more than college football but then again I'm a Wolverine fan but never went there.  I think you and I are both in the same boat where we didn't actually go to a college that had those sports so we have to root for another college that did.

Baseball on the other hand... I find it fairly dreadful to watch college baseball, but I could watch the pros all day long.

[Govtcheez]

Hey, I at least lived most of my life 15 minutes from MSU and my wife is an alum, so I'm allowed to root for them!  You and the rest of the Walmart Wolverines are scum (I don't actually give a shit, but my wife is adamant that most wolverine fans shouldn't be allowed to root for them.  Somehow this rule doesn't apply to me and MSU

I don't think I've ever met anyone who follows college baseball.  The only player I could name you that played college baseball at MSU is Mark Mulder, and that's only because he went pro.  I know John Smoltz is from Lansing but I don't know if he played college ball at all.

edit: Actually, the only time the Walmart Wolverine thing bothers me is when someone who couldn't have gotten in there in a million years talks about what a superior school it is to MSU

[ober]

I stake no claim to educational superiority.  And I've been a Wolverine fan since I was like 5... so it's not like I just picked it up for shits and giggles when I got to college.

[Govtcheez]

Oh I know that, it doesn't really apply to you and my wife's weird obsession with it doesn't make much sense to me either.

Also I freely admit that UM is a better school in most aspects than MSU, but it's not like MSU's a community college or something.  They've got several nationally recognized programs.  Like I said, mostly it just ticks me off when people making my sandwich at Quizno's do it (which actually happened)

[ober]

Yeah, that's just unnecessary.

[PJYelton]

I think part of the reason is the perception that professionals are in it just for the money while college sports players care more about winning.

College basketball also has the most exciting final playoff of any sport, and college football regular season games are much more important that NFL regular season games.

[charlie]

There's something more exciting about rooting for a bunch of kids than there is about rooting for a bunch of selfish millionaires. Obviously for the most part the people are the same in the pros, just older and with more money, but that doesn't mean it feels the same.

Also, there are many college teams that are competitive year in and year out. Unless you're a fan of the Yankees, that doesn't happen so much in the pros, so there are a lot more lulls where your team sucks for a few years (or decades).

Finally, more skill doesn't necessarily make for a more interesting game.

[Perspective]

Another reason is that not all of the players are pro quality in college sports, so the stars really get to show their stuff (at the cost of the defenseman who will never make it).

This was what made Crosby such a big buzz in the Juniors, it's not just that he was good, he was so much better than his peers. Once he got into the pros the difference shifts quite a bit.