If you watch ESPN at all, you have no doubt seen a ridiculous commercial promoting the WNBA. It starts out with some catchy music, begins to show a bunch of girls making “unbelievable” plays, and ends with the tagline: “BASKETBALL IS BASKETBALL.”
I can’t put into words how much I laughed when I first saw this commercial. Anyone that knows anything about basketball would quickly admit that they would much rather watch a competitive high school boys game than a WNBA game. For numerous reasons, basketball is DEFINITELY NOT always basketball.
Ever since I moved to the South from the beloved Hoosier state, the same thing has happened every August: As I begin to get pumped up for the upcoming Colts season, my friends try to trick me into following and appreciating the college game more than I do the NFL.
After all, football is football…right?
I get it, I really do. For numerous reasons.
Living in Charleston, SC, the only professional experience these poor Southerners have is with the Carolina Panthers. And Browns fans, I’m really sorry to say this, but any team quarterbacked by Jake Delhomme is just ultimately doomed for failure.
***(Seriously, I have tried to talk myself into the Browns several times this offseason. They have a Top Ten defense including a Top 3 secondary. They have the best special teams in all of football. Their ground game is surprisingly effective, and they actually have a few other playmakers on the offensive side of the football.
But Jake Delhomme is their QB. Trust me. Take it from somebody who has lived in the Carolinas for 6 years. He’s taking you nowhere, and fast.
Now of course you could probably say that he is an upgrade over Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn, etc…and this is why you are Cleveland fans. You unbelievably talk yourself into optimism every year. This makes you the most loyal fans on earth, and also the most tortured.)***
Plus, they have only been around for like 15 years, so they have absolutely no history. I know more Falcons, Dolphins, and even ridiculous Steelers fans down here than Panther fans.
***(But really, what is wrong with Steelers fans anyway? Why do they have to plaster that ridiculous looking three-diamond thing everywhere? It’s seriously the lamest logo in all of sports, and yet they are so proud of it. But I digress. Just remember Steelers fans, “She said no!”)***
On the other hand, Clemson, South Carolina, UGA, Georgia Tech, UNC, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee are all within easy driving distance. That’s eleven college teams with legitimate history who are backed by a rabid fan base. The Panthers and Falcons are literally in 12th and 13th place in the South.
***(My last parenthesis, I promise. If you live anywhere besides South Carolina you are probably wondering, “Why on earth did you include South Carolina in this list?” I don’t know. I probably shouldn’t have. Their “glory days” included back-to-back 8-4 seasons. However, Carolina fans are kind of like Cleveland fans – loyal to a fault. All I have to say that if one more person tries to convince me that Marcus Lattimore is the second coming of Barry Sanders/OJ Simpson/Jim Brown/ Walter Payton when I have never seen even one play from all of his highlights where he made someone miss…I am going to scream.)***
Next, there is the obligatory contract dispute/rookie making way to much/holdout from camp/Brett Favre/incredibly overplayed story that makes all of us hate professional sports. I listen quietly as my friends tell me how much more pure of a game it is in the NCAA. I watch millionaires squabble with billionaires over money, and look on critically as teams fly people down to talk to selfish guys like Brett Favre and Darelle Revis just so they can kiss their feet and beg them to come back.
And just as I’m beginning to listen to the college argument, something happens that nearly puts me over the top - That first weekend of college games happens.
Brian Spurlock/US Presswire
My Golden Domers break in a new coach against a rival school and come away with a hard-fought win. SEC teams pummel provisional schools…unless your name is Ole Miss. Then, we watch one of the better games of the year as Boise State comes back to beat Virginia Tech.
Be honest. Even if you are the staunchest NFL fan, this sequence of events has NEARLY led you into the, “Hey, college football is just as good!” argument.
The NFL is still a couple days away from kicking off their first Sunday, and in your anxiousness, you begin to talk yourself into an inferior product. In fact, while I was in this state of confusion last year, I even wrote an article about why college football was BETTER than the pros. Well, if this makes me a flip-flopper, than so be it. But let me just say this, there is no sport in the United States that is AS FLAWED as college football.
Look, I could talk at length about the ridiculousness of the NCAA in general. Really, a guy can’t sell his jersey on eBay even though you are making millions off him? Really? Players can’t sell their championship rings because this makes them “professional” in some ridiculous way? REALLY?!? If a rich guy comes up and offers you money, you are supposed to tell him no, even though your athletic career has made it impossible for you to have any sort of job to make money on your own?
I could discuss the fact that the NCAA is like a plantation using and abusing a bunch of college kids as its slaves. You are telling me that you want Tim Tebow to stay in school for four years because you want him to graduate? Please. If guys want to graduate, they can come back whenever. They do it all the time. Even Michael Jordan did it!
Let’s stop the charade, NCAA. Just keep beating the money cow. We understand. When a player like Tebow stays for four years, he becomes more marketable and you can make much more money. We get it. Just admit it. Stop trying to pretend like you actually care about his academics when you constantly create reasons for him to miss class.
I could even mention the obvious fact that NFL football is just plain better than college. Seriously, as exciting as blocked extra points, the triple-option, and fake punts can be, give me a league where every starting QB can throw the 30 yard-out, each RB can break the big play, and defenses have speed and size that literally scares me any day of the week.
While all of those factors are true, I think I can win this argument by giving you one headline that came out this week:
“After beating Tech, Boise State earns 8 first place votes.”
(Let me pause while I try to hold in my anger and build up anticipation at the same time.)
REALLY!?!?!? (sorry, I couldn’t hold it in any longer.)
Right now, at the beginning of the season, there are only 10-12 teams with a legitimate shot at winning a national championship. More realistically, if Alabama and Boise State both go undefeated, that means that there are only two teams in the entire nation that could possibly win the national championship.
What about the Georgia Bulldogs, who are returning 10 offensive starters including the best Wide Receiver in the nation?
What about the Miami Hurricanes, who have one of the most exciting teams that I can remember?
What about Ohio State and Terrelle Pryor – the most physically gifted QB since Michael Vick?
What about Texas?
Oklahoma?
Iowa?
Sorry, but if ‘Bama and Boise go undefeated, you will all be left out to dry. Why? Because after one game, you are ranked behind them. And there is nothing you can do about it unless they lose.
This is the biggest travesty in American sports. It’s not enough that we don’t have a playoff system that actually could determine the best team. The fact that the BCS will pick two teams to play in a championship game largely because of where they STARTED the year is just pathetic.
Honestly, I’m not one of these guys that is petitioning for a playoff system. One of the great things about college football is that it opens up room for debate. We get to argue over which conference is better, which QB is better, and why teams should be ranked differently. I am of the opinion that the more you can argue about a sport, the better. If the season ended with two undefeated teams that didn’t play each other, now that’s a debate. The bowl system could definitely work.
But here’s the problem: Ohio State could beat an incredibly tough Miami team this weekend, and then travel to Wisconsin AND Iowa and win in tough environments to finish the season undefeated. None of it will matter if Boise St. and ‘Bama go undefeated. Why? Because of where they started the year.
Why do we need a poll before week one anyway? Did anyone really need a poll to know that Alabama was good? Were there really any college football fans out there that were sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting for the AP poll to come out, just so they could figure out who was going to be a contender? NO! Of course not.
Why don’t we just forego polls for the first month of the season. That way, we could avoid embarrassments like putting Ole Miss in the top ten year after year. That way, we have an accurate reflection of what a team really is. That way, we allow the teams to decide it for themselves instead of a group of cranky old men that want America to cower at their every whim.
I’m sure there are more than a few college football fans reading this with a fair amount of ire. You are hoping more than ever that I’m wrong. You’re thinking, “Just watch. After the Buckeyes beat Miami this weekend, America will know who the better team is and they will leapfrog Boise State in the polls. None of this will matter. The best teams will get the chance to prove it on the field.”
And you might be right.
But when Boise State finishes undefeated, and gets leap-frogged by the power school, and we have to hear about it every day for 3 1/2 weeks while we wait for the SEC Champion to pound the tar out of Ohio State again, I will be there to tap you on the shoulder, and remind you that you would rather be talking about Brett Favre any day of the week.
About Jon Washburn
