Sorry, College Football: I'm Just Not That Into You

I know it must sound like sacrilege to most of you, but I am not—nor have I really ever been—excited about college football.

I understand its appeal and why a lot of people prefer it to the NFL, but I, for one, would sacrifice my Saturdays for free Sundays.

Recently this has been bothering me, because I see the joy college ball brings others, and I want to be a part of it.  I root for Notre Dame—always have and always will—but it has never been the life or death fandom I experience with my other teams.

Don't get me wrong—I spend my Saturday afternoons watching NBC's lovefest with the Irish and usually tune in to the big games Saturday nights.  I loved watching Vince Young win a National Championship by himself and wish USC and Florida State would just go away.

However, it's kind of like the girl you date on the weekends.  I have a good time Saturday, and I'll give her a call once or twice during the week—reading some ESPN articles—but I am in no way ready to commit long term.

I have searched my inner being as to why this is the case and can only offer the following reasons as to why I cannot get into college football as much as the NFL.

Firstly, I grew up in Albany, New York.  This set off a chain of events that has brought me to my current impasse.  The closest thing we have to a college football team is the Syracuse Orange, who I refused to root for because they're from central New York.

This explains my allegiance to Notre Dame.  With no local team to seriously root for, I would get up on Saturdays, watch Saved By the Bell and Hanging with Mr. Cooper, and leave the tube on for Notre Dame games.  It seemed to be a natural fit as I was both Irish and Catholic.

(I was very happy to be a Notre Dame fan a few years later, since I felt I had more of a claim to the movie Rudy than my classmates who jumped on the Florida State or Nebraska bandwagons.)

Watching Rick Mirer and Ron Powlus was exciting, but not being in a conference hurt my college football development.  Sure, we had rivals, but every week wasn't do or die.  Could I really ever hate Army, Navy, and Air Force?  After all, they were usually horrible, and they were the soldiers who were protecting me.

Perhaps if I had an SEC or Big Ten or Big 12 team to root for, college football would be about tailgates, BBQs, and rivalries.  Maybe being formed in an environment with more pressure would have me more excited each year when August rolls around.

Secondly, I decided to go to the University of Albany.  I had friends that decided to go to Maryland because they were huge basketball fans, and buddies who went to Boston College for their football program.

I thought they were foolish, but now their basements are full of Terrapin and Eagle paraphernalia, and mine is very empty (can anyone find a Great Dane intimidating?).

Seriously, UAlbany isn't exactly known for its athletic program (although we have an up-and-coming basketball program).  It's known mostly for its cheap tuition.

In fact, more students would go up to see the New York Giants' fourth string D-line hit the sleds during training camp than an actual UAlbany game.

Aside from my geographical impediments, I find it hard to get into a sport where there is no clear-cut winner.

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