I just cant understand some football fans. Some football fans love College football but hate NFL. Some love NFL and don't care much about College. Others just like high school football. I get why you would like each form of football. I only watched high school football when I was in high school, and that was only when I wasn't playing. I never got a chance to play in College as I wasn't big, fast or strong enough and didn't have enough skill at any particular position. I think most die hard I love College football fans that hate the NFL never played football in high school. I dont know why they hate the NFL but o well. I think that most die hard NFL fans never played football at any level, I am talking about the NFL fans that don't like College ball. They like the game played at the highest level but don't quite understand what it really takes to get there. I for one am a Football fan, I mean dont get me wrong I can miss some NFL games but wont miss the Horns game. If I am not doing anything else why wouldn't I want to watch the NFL. It crazy to comprehend that you like one and hate the other. I just dont understand it and it must be off season for me to care.
because most people aren't real footbal fans. real football fans watch all games possible. people that only watch their team play (a lot of pro fans, and college fans) might be some of the best team fans on the planet.... but they don't love the game so much probably. i tend to agree with your theory of having actually played a sport before helps.... but even that is not altogether true.
I LOVE college and high school football and don't really care about the NFL at all. I'll have the games on in the background on Sundays, but it wouldn't bother me a bit to miss every single game of the NFL season. I played in high school and walked on in college, but quit. I have season tickets to 2 college teams and go to at least 1 game per weekend + a high school game on Friday nights. Have been to every bowl of both college teams for the last several years as well. edit: re: the post above. I also watch every college game possible. We have 2 DVRs so I tape as many games as possible while I am at the other games and watch them during the week. I couldn't care less who is playing; if it is a college football game, I am going to watch it if I can.
I was the "I love College Football, but I dont like the NFL" fan just a few years ago. You know who made me love the NFL again? Our boy VY! When he got drafted by the Titans (my favorite team), it was on. I wasnt going to miss a snap of Vince's in my lifetime if I could help it. Also what helped me get back into it, as nerdy as this sounds, is fantasy football. Im a man that loves competition. Whether its a pick up basketball game, or a game of madden 10.. I always want to win. So when I started fantasy football with a group of my best friends, it was constant competition on Sundays. I couldve gave a **** less if Oakland and KC were playing a few years ago.. Now if I have a player in that game or my opponent does.. I watch it. So yeah, Thank you VY and Fantasy Football for restoring my love in the professional game. I cant believe what I was missing...
For me it's emotional attachment first. I am emotionally attached to the Longhorns as an alum and as a Texan. I love watching the college game partly because of the emotion and fervor of people who play for and pull for teams just like I do. I like the heart you can see in college players. I like the stories, the suprises and the traditions of the college game. I was a big Oiler and Cowboy fan for much of my life. Earl playing for Houston raised my interest in the pro game to its peak. Jerry Jones destroyed my liking for the Cowboys and the Oilers moved away. In that moment of detachment, I decided I wanted Sundays free. I also realized that I just don't care that much about pro athletes or the pro system of interchangeable pieces. I don't have the emotional connection to the pros that I do to Texas. I was almost relieved when the Texans did not draft VY. I don't really want to be drawn all the way back into watching pro football on Sundays. I like spending the time with my girlfriend, family or just doing something on my own. I only watch pro games if there is nothing much else to do and a player I like is playing. I guess that means I am not a "football fan." Somehow, I think I will be able to live with that.
One thing that makes the College game a little more exciting is the amount of different offenses you can see.. For instance, the NFL has about 1 offense. They all run it. It gets pretty boring.. (run-run-pass-punt) In College you can have teams like Georgia Tech who run a triple option attack against a team like Tech who does nothing but throw down the field all day. A match-up you ONLY see in college. Then you have teams like Navy who run, run, run and throw maybe 4-5 passes a game. You have shotgun teams, you have under center teams.. You have teams with quarterbacks that run like running backs... You have kids like Ryan Bailey who can walk-on and walk-in to NCAA history all by making 1 kick. Which alludes to the history that the College game brings that the NFL doesnt. The great stories of triumph and overcoming the odds. The underdogs always having a chance to win and the reaction it induces when it happens. In the NFL the team thats supposed to win, usually does. You just dont see a crowd of people rush the field when the Lions beat the Patriots.. or w.e extreme match-up you can think of in the NFL. The passion of the fans is something you cant get out of any other sport. Another big difference: In college, kids arent playing for a paycheck. They are playing for one thing, and thats the W. In the NFL, although you always want to win, you are still making that same dollar amount at the end of the month. You can always lose a couple games without it really having consequence. In college, you lose one and your done. Better luck next season... I could go on and on.. but those are some of the main reasons the game in college is much more passionate and exciting.
I love College Football, watch every Texas game, and watch any other game that's on (except for those on NBC) as long as there's nothing else pressing I need to do. I don't hate NFL games, and watch them pretty regularly, but am not passionate about them. The reason I'm not passionate is because I'm loyal to players and players in the NFL have no loyalty to the fans or teams. Free agency ruined the 'team' in the NFL, and the fact that you are watching a bunch of often spoiled millionaires can be distracting to the on field performance. I watched all of my high school football when I was in high school, but haven't gotten to many games since. And I never played football at any level. You can look for any correlation you want here, but I don't think you'll find a supportable one.
I played ball in HS, love college ball, can't stand the NFL. For those that are into the NFL for the love of the game you are fooling yourself. For the love of the game someone explain to me the weekly injury report? The NFL is a big sign of what is wrong with society, all about look what I did and the worship of the athletes makes me sick. Grown men wearing jersey's of another man, how old are you? $50 to park at a a stadium, are you fricking kidding me, pay your mortgage.
What a sad commentary to think that people who aren't like you fall into such convenient categories. I love college football, like high school football and can get excited about certain NFL games, but not on a regular basis. Years ago I was almost as passionate about pro teams as college. I became a Cowboy fan when the were formed in 1960 and stayed with them until the strikes began. At that point I began to lose a little of my enthusiasm, and as more strikes occurred, it got even weaker. Then when the hick from Arkansas bought the team and treated it like it was his personal toy (which I guess is his right, but...) I said screw it. I was happy about the Super Bowls they won, but was not emotionally invested in them. I was also an Oiler fan and when Bud Adams took them to Tennessee I hated the team. Only recently (since VY) have I pulled for them again. One reason I am not a stronger HS fan is that I tend to move a lot and have not become emotionally attached to one team. I live over 400 miles from the HS I attended and during the last 45 years I have probably lived in about 20 different school districts, so you can see the difficulty in establishing any connections. I have been a Longhorn fan for well over 50 years so that relationship will be going with me to my grave, or at least until dementia sets in.
btw, my post was tongue in cheek. i usually watch cfb all day and most nights on saturdays during the season. i don't really watch much NFL unless there is a really good matchup or fantasy team has something on the line. but that has a lot more to do with me not having "a team" in the NFL. i have some teams with players i like, but nothing that has any kind of allegiance. same with high school ball. i like watching it, but i'm not from the area (dallas) so i have no ties to any of the local teams. i imagine i would be going to see my old high school team on fridays if i still lived in the small little town i did growing up. what else you gonna do on friday?
I love all football. But I have a family and have to make choices, and I will always prioritize college football over the NFL. But if I'm not doing anything else, then I'll watch any football game that is on television, over anything else that is on television, and that includes D3 college football or those random high school games involving California high schools like Thousand Oaks versus Westlake. Because the off-season is long and by June I know I'll be dying to see Thousand Oaks plays some ball.
If I had the choice between watching OU or A&M play a cupcake vs. just about any NFL game, I'd choose the college game. The only thing I like better about the NFL is the games are 3 hours long, and that only matters when I'm watching on tv. One big reason I don't like professional sports is I can't stand watching pampered, immature grown men who are worshipped by a buncha ******** in jorts and jerseys.
There was a time when the Cowboys could ruin my week, or longer, by losing. There was a time, the same time, when they were the gold standard in organizational excellence, from their owner through Tom Landry, their head coach, and down to the waterboy. Then, the hillbilly bought 'em and turned Texas Stadium into, basically, a flea market. The 'Boys were still fun to watch while Jimmy Johnson coached 'em and the triplets played...but Jerry Jones wanted more credit, waved goodbye to Johnson, and brought in the bootlegger's son, and from that point until now, the Cowboys, and indeed the NFL, are irrelevant to me. I guess that makes me NOT a true football fan.
Call me a "non-real" football fan if you like, but I've watched one NFL game since 1992 and that was this years superbowl. I think it has more to do w/ my obsession w/ college and HS than the NFL product. I usually attend a HS game on fri. Then on Sat, If im not attending the horns in person I get in front of the TV at 1030am and dont stop watching college untill the fox SW pac 10 game is over at 11pm or later. By that time Im a littke burt out and behind on my chores. Sunday is for work, not rest.
I don't understand some football fans. They watch high school football, college football, and pro football, but how many really appreciate Australian rules football, and rugby? These people must not have been in the high school marching band, that's the only explanation for this.
HSFB: I only go to games if I know someone playing, whether that be a family member or a student of mine. I'll also watch if one the Horn's recruits is playing in town. HS football is a weird thing, since some teams are just so dominant, and sometimes they play a team who is barely able to field a full starting lineup. It can get dangerous at times. College: horns obviously. Secondarily, I'll watch rival teams, or teams that might threaten the horns: OU, Aggy, Tech, Neb. 3rd, I'll watch top 10 teams to see if there is the chance of an upset. Pro: I'll take it or leave it. Some said before, but there are really no upsets in the pros, and teams cruise once they are assured a playoff spot. Plus the only team I see regularly on TV are the Cowboys, and I really don't have any attachment to them. If I moved to Denver I'd watch the Broncos, not because I like them, but because they are on TV.
the NFL is not fun anymore. as a kid growin up in the 70's and mid 80's... i LOVED it. but it sucks now. it's a business. and most of the players make me feel like i'm watching pro wrestling. it's turnin' into a joke. there was a time when all cowboy fans absolutely HATED deion sanders. but then... bam.. he's a cowboy. now we love him. we hate t.owens. now we love him. same with the vikings and favre i actually don't enjoy ANY pro sports. i'm glad they exist so college athletes have somethin to shoot for... but i don't really watch any of it.
As many have said before, I was an oiler fan until Bud Adams got rid of them. I was a cowboy fan until the inbred hillbilly ruined them. The texans are okay but they just aren't the oilers. Maybe if the Texans had drafted VY or draft colt mccoy my interest in the NFL would increase. My theory on NFL vs College Football fans that I cannot prove and may or may not be true The majority of hardcore college football fans attended a college with a D1 football team or had close family attend a college with a D1 football team. The majority of hardcore NFL fans attended a college that did not have a D1 football team or did not attend college. Just a theory
Why is it so hard to understand. I love high school and college ball. I despise Pro football for taking the game out of the sport and making it all about the buck. There is no team concept, no loyality. It's all about me. Yes it is a business and people want to make a profit and make the most of there talent. And thats fine but im one that would prefer to find something better to do with my time on a Sunday then watch a bunch of overpaid athletes that 95% of could care less about the game. And it's not only the players its the owners as well.
I used to watch a lot of NFL and I've made the trip to Dallas for many Cowboy games. That dates back to the Cowboy games in the Cotton Bowl. I haven't watched a pro game in years. I am a big fan of college ball and not just the Horns. I will watch te Thursday night game and several on the weekend. I still attend the high schools game and see 6 or 7 a year. The fact is they are not all the same game. Between college and pro there are significant rule differences. I just dont like the pro game. If that means I'm not a real fan so what? I played in HS and was a walk on in college. I spent four wonderful years in Austin as the backup tackling dummy.
So in other words, most of us completely disagree with the OP and for pretty much the same reasons. I totally agree with the comment about the college affiliation and the NFL vs. college fans. I'm a woman so I obviously never played. I will watch any college game any time whether my husband's home or not. We go to every Longhorn game home and away, and we don't live in Austin so we miss most other games on Saturday, but I watch every game that's on any other time. If our game is the early game, we race back to Fort Worth to see the evening games. When we're at road games, we try our damndest to build other games into our schedule, for example going to the Rice game this year in Houston and praying we can fit in a UH game while we're there. We go to other games on our bye weeks, for example this year we're going to the Notre Dame-Pitt game and working in a trip to Chicago. We go to bowl games that are not our own, for example last year we went to the Armed Forces Bowl here in Fort Worth because it was local and cheap. We're huge fans of the college game, any college game, but Sunday doesn't do anything for us for reasons others have already discussed. High school we would go to if we had any affiliation to the district were in, although we have thought about checking them out. One of these days we may cruise down the road to Southlake Carroll and catch one of their games. I always check the recruiting to see of there are any Longhorn prospects who play nearby. So far we haven't followed up on that one but we probably will soon.
It seem that I have always been a Longhorns and Cowboys fan, although the latter actually predates the former by a few years. That really isn't very significant since this spans decades, all the way back to my preadolescence. That's just the way it was, the way it is and the way it always will be, regardless of who the coach is, or who owns the team. I'm not even the biggest Cowboys fan that I know. That distinction goes to my son who passed away before last season and was wearing his DeMarcus Ware jersey when he left this world. I had a paver engraved and placed in the Legacy Walk at the new Stadium in his memory as a tribute to the biggest Cowboys fan that I have known in my life. My heart breaks a little more every time I go to a game and walk that walk, but I know he would consider it extremely awesome.
I loved watching the NFL up until the strike in 1987. It was such a disgusting display of greed by both sides that I swore I would never watch it again, and with a few exceptions I haven't. I was far from alone in feeling that way, although my impression is that most people gradually drifted back into watching it. It will be interesting to see if the upcoming strike has the same effect on people.
