College Football: Is It Really The Game That We Enjoy?

So, I was reading the comments on one of my articles recently, when I read a comment that really got to me. It read,

"I'm really tired of people who are so ignorant as to judge people they don't even know off of stereotypes.  Seriously guys, it's football. Alabama. Auburn. It doesn't matter, because all football fans are obnoxious. I mean, you might as well be fighting about Pokemon or something...come on, grow up."

This got to me. Is there truly any fan of sports out there that does not have a favorite college football team. His comparison to Pokemon made me think one simple question: "Is it really the sport that fans enjoy?"

Most readers may not understand this statement quite yet, but that is the purpose of me writing this article.

I am a fan of my team, Alabama, because of not only the team in and of itself, but the tradition in it's pastime.

On Saturday nights we rally up the family and our close friends and sit down in front of the big screen so that we can watch our favorite college team in a gridiron match. Sometimes our team can be the under dogs, and sometimes the team expected to win. No matter what you are always loyal to your team, right?

When you are watching, and perhaps your team is losing, are you now rooting for the other team? No. We stay loyal, believing in our team even if it is a blow-out with five seconds left on the game clock. It's not all about the players on the field, or the game within itself. It's the pride in knowing that your team is out there every Saturday night.

It's the pride in your past tradition. Like Paul "Bear" Bryant, or your twelve national championships and twenty SEC championships.

I know that all Alabama fans have respect for Auburn fans. All Michigan fans have respect for Ohio State fans. All Notre Dame fans have respect for USC fans. Family's of one spouse being for the other team are in their opposite team colors on that Saturday. Fans enjoy trash talking other teams fans. It's the enjoyment of doing it. Not the immaturity. Every fan in the world is the same, and that is what makes the game so special.

It is that certain feeling in your heart, that your team can win. Western Kentucky fans felt the same feeling that Alabama fans felt in their 2008 contest. That feeling that your team is the best on the field.

The feeling of yelling your teams winning chant after each win is a great one. The yelling of " over rated" after your team pulls off the upset is an amazing one.

So yes, sometimes fans can get obnoxious, but that's what makes college football so exciting. From Maryland to UCLA, college football is great. There is no sport like it.

It is not the game that makes it great. It is the tradition, pride, and excitement that make it the best sport in the world.