Reasons why college football is better than pro football

     I have had this argument with several friends about the fact that college football is 10 times better than pro football.  In fact as far as I can think of, there is only one reason pro football might be better, and I'll get to that in a little bit. 

     Let me start with what is currently the most obvious reason college football is better.  You never have to worry about a lockout or players strike.  I wish I could tell you that a work stoppage in professional sports is a once in a lifetime thing, but truthfully, this sort of thing happens once every few years in one of the major sports.  Over all this argument between the players and the owners splitting the revenue, neither side seems as concerned about who is providing the revenue, the fans.  It would be a real shame for the college players who left school early to jump to the NFL to waste this football season not playing in college or the pros. 

David Bergman/SI

     College football players are also much more exciting than pro football players.  Guys like Charlie Ward, Michael Vick, Reggie Bush, Vince Young, and Tim Tebow were so much fun to watch in college football.  The jury might still be out on some of those guys' NFL careers, but even if they do become top-level NFL players, they will still never be as exciting during the games as they were in college.  I remember staying up for the late games to watch what kind of nasty moves Reggie Bush would put on teams, watching Michael Vick create huge gains out of broken plays like he was in a video game, and Vince Young running for first downs at will in the 2006 Rose Bowl.  No matter how good an NFL player is, the NFL offenses are often very plain, and exciting plays are at a minimum.  In college, the offenses can have a lot more exciting plays, and have players creating their own play, which never gets old.

Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

     The option-offense is something you will never see as the featured offense in the NFL.  For those who are unfamiliar with this offense, basically it comes down to 3 plays.  Option 1, after every snap, the big fullback runs straight up the middle, and the quarterback has the option to give him the ball or keep it himself.  If the quarterback keeps the ball, the running back runs right behind him, and the quarterback has the option to run the ball himself, or pitch it back to the running back.  The best part about this offense, is that the defense knows exactly what their game plan is, and it is still crazy hard to stop.  I went to watch a Navy football game live this year, a team that runs the option-offense, and it drove me crazy seeing them do this all day, and having no idea who had the ball.  I would get excited to see a player get tackled, only to realize that actually the guy running 30 yards up the field is the guy who actually has the ball.

     One thing that bothers be about the NFL, or any pro sport for that matter is the player turnover.  In the NFL, your team drafts a player, you see him develop as an NFL player, and by the time he gets really good, he's a free agent and signs with another team.  I just don't like rooting for your favorite player, and the next year he's on your rivals' team.  In college, once you get a player, he usually sticks around for 3-4 years, and then moves on to the NFL.  It's a short time you get with these guys, but when they leave for the NFL you still get the idea that they are one of your guys.  I always like following my favorite college football players in the pros, even if they are not on my favorite NFL team. 

     I think it's only fair for me to talk about the one reason the NFL is better than college football.  College football could never pull off fantasy football, which for many people has been the best part of the NFL season.  Since I started playing fantasy football, I started watching games that ordinarily I never would have cared about.  It also gives me more knowledge about the NFL than I would have had just watching my team's games.  I'm not even sure college fantasy football is legal with the rules of using a college football player's likeness, which is why you'll never see it on ESPN or Yahoo!, but I have seen magazines try and pull off college fantasy football, and it looks like it wouldn't even be fun.  The highest rated players aren't the best players in college football, but rather the guys who play the worst opponents.

     All in all, I'll take college football over the pros any day, and unfortunately this season, we may not have a choice with the continued NFL work stoppage.  I just wonder if the NFL doesn't play this year, will more people be watching football on Saturdays when they decide to come back?