Sloppy Potatoes

College Football: 9 reasons to rejoice

Here we are at the start of another football season. Days of heat exhaustion and dehydration in late-summer sun will soon be replaced by more wintry weather as we cheer our teams on to the postseason.

I’m personally a huge fan of the NFL, much more than the NCAA, but that doesn’t mean I won’t watch college ball. In fact, I love college football. Here are 9 reasons why you should love it to:

1. Fight songs and student sections. Yeah, there is no better environment than the first quarter of big-time college on a big Saturday. Scratch that. The final minute of a nail-biter my be a little better. You have to get caught up in the frenzy, even if it is not your team for which you are cheering. Be prepared on rivalry week, it will be insane.
2. For school pride. Players play hard and celebrate harder. They want to win it for the Maize and Blue, or the Maroon and Gold. They want to win it for their teammates. It’s not about a payday. There’s a reason these players turn down multi-million dollar contracts to return for their senior season — and it’s the same reason you want to watch them in the fall.
3. The systems. Love college football for this one. Spread, all-shotgun, no-shotgun, pro formation, running the option — diversity in college football offenses is astounding. Typically, they are tweaked to put a team’s best player in the best position to make big plays. Who doesn’t like big plays?
4. Heisman talk. Yeah, it started as they were handing the award to Florida’s Tim Tebow last year, knowing he was going to return. And, yes there are frontrunners already. But isn’t there a player on your team’s squad who has a chance? Y’know, if all the chips fall right and he has that big game on national TV. Could happen, right?
5. Who’s next. Yeah, telling everyone who is going to be the next Darren McFadden, Glenn Dorsey or Colt Brennan makes you an expert just like everyone else. Actually having it come true, even just one of your 178 predictions, is a pretty good rush.
6. Cheerleaders. Yes, I am shallow, but then again so is every television cameraman and producer, because we get plenty of pleasing shots of these cuties. Unfortunately, we do need to award some negative points for shots of guy cheerleaders. Please step aside sir, let the ladies in front of the camera.
7. History tends to repeat itself. If that happens this year and a ton of top-ranked teams get dumped — remember App. State beat Michigan before the leaves even started to fall last year — it will be another thrilling college football season
8. Bowl season. While I have expressed a concern about not having a true playoff, holiday bowls are a fair enough tradeoff. Hype leading up to the games is intense, and big players usually step up in the spotlight.
9. NFL Draft prep. Yes, like I said in the intro, the NFL is where it is at. But, watching college football you get a feel for the players that will star in the next draft and upcoming NFL seasons. Maybe you’ll see a move or a run or a throw that makes a little-known player a lock as an NFL superstar. Be sure to remind your friends about that game during your April draft party.
10. This one is up to you…

Like it says above, fill out number 10 in the comments section. What did I miss that you love about college football? Do you agree or disagree with my nine? Let me know with a comment below.