NFL or Bust: Eight Reasons College Football Sucks

I've had my eye to the Internet lately and have seen words arranged in a most troubling manner. People have wrinkled their fingers and punched keys in specific sequences to create words discrediting the quality of the NFL. And they have done this in favor of college football!

I do not appreciate these disparaging remarks being made against my National Football League.

As far as I'm concerned, college football might as well be played on another planet. The language is foreign, the population is of a strange breed, and the game re-defines the concept of boring.

College football is an exercise in futility, and a practical joke played by Lucifer on all true, red-blooded NFL followers.

8. The ESPN Ticker
It takes way too long to get to important news on a college gameday. And don't get me started on when NCAA basketball starts, with both women and men's games getting in the way of what real sports fans care about.

7. The Ranking System
I'm a fairly intelligent guy and have even deciphered a Fibonacci once. Yet, I still can't figure out college football's ranking system. Do the numbers next to the school's name really mean anything?

6. Too Many Teams
The collegiate battle for supremacy is a moot point when there are multiple championship trophies being rewarded at the end of the season. In the NFL, there is one winner at the end of the season. 

One ring to rule them all, so to speak.

There's no way to tell if your favorite team is truly the best. The winner of the Orange Bowl might be a lot worse than the winner of the Sugar Bowl. But because of these ridiculous conferences, it's impossible to ever know.

5. School Spirit?
Drunken frat boys, scantily-clad women, and an excuse to be loud and obnoxious seem to be the incentive for students attending games.

Live football always provides an exciting environment. But what are the intentions of those in attendance? Are they there because they want to represent their school, or because it's Saturday afternoon and everyone else is going to be there?

School spirit is an illusion; a fabrication of loyalty by people that are gracious for a school's acceptance. My ex-girlfriend attended Penn State football games because it was something to do, not because she loved the game.

The entire event is an afternoon of pretend. They're more Sean Astin than they are Rudy Ruettiger.

4. The Misconception of Heart
When NCAA Football fans attempt to support their love for the amateur ranks, they typically point to the proverbial heart collegiate athletes exhibit. That argument is paper-thin.

If it's really heart and desire they're looking for, one has to wonder why no one is lining up to watch local semi-pro teams play. You know—the leagues where the players pay to play.

To believe that college football players aren't going out every week for themselves and to prove what they can do for a shot at a lucrative contract and longer playing career is absurd.

Just because these athletes don't have endorsement deals, movie offers, and multi-million dollar contracts doesn't mean they don't benefit from the perks of their status. In fact, it can be argued that they've been benefiting from it all since High School.

As a society we enjoy laughing at the dumb athletes as we wonder how they got through college to begin with. Look no further than their scholarships. Athletes being pushed through school simply to make it to the next level isn't a foreign concept to anyone.

NFL players look to cement their names in the history books at the top level. Collegiate records are fine and dandy, but to say NFL players have no incentive to strive for glory only serves to prove one's bias.

3. The Greed
The NFL isn't exactly a shining beacon of generosity, but that can't be held against them as it's understood that the game is a business. The league does explore new methods to improve the game, but profit margins are always a focus.

However, the money-first example that these schools have established sets a terrible precedent for those whose minds they seek to enrich. Is the school primarily an institution for higher learning, or a cash cow for the board to wet their beaks?

It's a cruel hypocrisy when a school seeks financial gain off the legs of student-athletes, whose eligibility and character is assassinated the second they receive a birthday card from grandma with $100 inside.

The millions of dollars these colleges generate could easily go into making school more affordable for students from low-to-middle-class families. Instead, students who can't dunk, or sack the quarterback, are evaluated against unreasonable standards.

2. Coaches That Couldn't Cut It in the NFL
Pete Carroll, Bobby Petrino, Nick Saban, Dave Wannstedt, and the list goes on. These guys have found homes, reputations, and notoriety in their collegiate coaching careers, but they have led professional teams to the bottom in their stints with the NFL.

Perhaps they're more comfortable building their team around one talented player than developing a system that actually works.

Moreover, when an established NFL coaching commodity ventures to the NCAA, they're forced to simplify their playbooks to accommodate less-talented athletes. For further proof, ask Charlie Weiss.

1. The Overhyped Athletes
When the NFL Draft arrives, the media circus begins with around-the-clock coverage on the next "Once Every 10 Years" collegiate superstar. Speculation is presented as fact while a new NCAA record-holder is heralded as the next Barry Sanders or Jerry Rice.

There are definitely stars shining in the collegiate ranks, but the annual assumption game all of the analysts play is sickening.

Saying that a college star will be of an equal caliber to an established NFL player does nothing to improve my perception of the NCAA when these players stink up the field.

When these guys suit up in their new NFL digs, they end up looking like the inexperienced amateurs they are. In college they may have looked like men amongst boys; but in the NFL, they look like guys that would have been placed on the practice squad if it weren't for their draft position.

I watch college football and feel like I'm watching a cheap imitation of an NFL game. I know how football is played, and NCAA contests feel more like an amateur hour than a true competition.

My familiarity with the class of people in attendance, and my disdain for most institutions, contribute to my negative outlook on the college game. I sympathize with the athletes that are treated as if they're expendable while giving their all for some sort of recognition.

However, any attempts to hold college football in a higher esteem than the NFL will never sit well with me. I accept no substitutes. The NFL is real football, played the way God intended.

Angel Navedo is the Head Writer at NYJetsFan.com, boasting Jet Fuel Radio, frequently updated news and opinions, and a premier fan community.

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