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Sunday

Feb152009

Saturday or Sunday

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Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 5:58PM by

Tula

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When do you prefer watching football, on Saturday or Sunday? Is it the far reaching efforts of the NCAA or the marketing machine of the NFL? Let’s consider more proxy-like questions... Do you want ‘amateurism’ or ‘professionalism’... creativity or monotony... no playoffs or playoffs? Let’s be clear here, if one cares to answer the main question, then one must not only appreciate, but love, both days for their unique reasons. Ultimately, that NCAA football is more creative than the NFL is as unarguable as which organization one prefers to watch.

Enough with the questions, lets get to the adjudication. The key areas to compare the two organizations are history, method/style, skill/talent level, structure, and excitement/entertainment.

History: Both organizations are full and deep of history (can’t you say that about almost anything though?); but if you believe they are equal in depth then you’ll believe anything. Football was invented on a college campus, and it was there that it was truly developed from a Rugby, Old-world type of game into an American tradition.

Another difference worth mentioning, and not forgetting, is college football’s role in this country’s civil rights movement. Many of the college football programs in the South were a public venue where blacks struggled and endured to prove equality was a ‘God’ given right. It would be misleading to say sports took the lead in this long, still evolving movement, but it certainly played a key role. This is not to say professional football did not experience and deal with racial tension. Nonetheless, professional football’s role in the civil rights movement was not as charged, fervent or memorable as college football (what professional franchise resided in Alabama or Mississippi?). Enough said.

Method/style: What this means is which organization has a better style of football? Two possible leading, but helpful, questions to understand what ‘better’ means are: In which will you observe more breadth of football strategies and mindsets? Which has more innovation of football strategies? Diversity, variety and innovation are very important for a fan that wants to watch different styles of football and learn the strengths and weaknesses of such strategies.

NCAA football is unparalleled in the amount of strategies its coaches and teams utilize to outwit and outscore their opponents compared to any other sport, let alone the NFL. NCAA football as an aggregate utilizes a more diverse set of formations and plays than the NFL (the key here is NCAA football as a whole compared to NFL football as a whole, not one NCAA team compared to one NFL team). The NFL, by itself is a league of excitement, but compared to NCAA football its strategies/style are monotone.

Ok, so what, why does diversity equal better? For the sake of simplicity, diversity and variety in life is beneficial; it broadens horizons and is thought provoking. Although it may be obvious, it’s important to note that diversity is relative. Within the NFL there is diversity and one can easily argue a substantial amount of diversity and creativity exists and flourishes amongst its teams. However, relative to NCAA football...

Skill / talent level: The NFL is the final product that only showcases the best football talent in the world; albeit talent that prospers under its customized set of rules and culture. Nonetheless, the intense selection process starts between high school and college and culminates at NFL draft combines in microscopic filtering that attempts to identify the strongest on physical, mental and motivational levels. More importantly, the players in the NCAA are not yet at a comparative physical and mental maturity level as they would be at an older age and that can only be achieved if they can make it and survive long enough in the NFL.

It is a losing cause to argue the NCAA has more talent per player than the NFL. However, a rationale that is commonly used to articulate that the NFL has better talent that should be discredited is when one refers to a great college football player that acts like a chicken with its head cut off when they get to the NFL. It’s debatable whether NFL exposes the lack of talent or if the player does not fit in the new system or a mix of both. What is less arguable is that for every Jason White there is a Tom Brady. For every Rashaan Salaam there is a Willie Parker. For every Nick Saban there is a Charlie Weiss.

Structure: It would be more constructive to focus on the key and foremost structural issue. This of course is the manner the two leagues determine their respective national champion. The NFL does it the normal way that can rightfully determine the deserved champion on the field via a tourney style playoff system. The NCAA does not have a tourney playoff system, and as a result its methodology leaves the validity of its champion open to debate. For any fan of college football this of course is the most frustrating aspect of their fan hood.

There are positives for the NCAA worth mentioning. The first is the NCAA method of overtime which determines a definitive winner and doesn’t allow a tie game. This does not refer to the different rules that govern the two organizations’ overtime periods. In sports you play to win (not at all costs, i.e. cheating), but you play to win not tie. The second is the NCAA policy of reviewing the referee’s call on every play. Getting a call right via a review, whether it involves using technology or not, is unarguably better than getting it wrong. Nonetheless, these do not offset the overriding shortcoming of college football’s post season format. In this category, the NFL gets all of the first place votes.

Excitement/Entertainment: Which is more entertaining to watch, the NFL or NCAA? Comparing which is more exciting or entertaining is indefinable and, like beauty, is genuine only in the eye of the beholder. So, the reality is that the answer to this is not to be adjudicated by an independent party, but is to each his/her own. Period.

Conclusion: So, what’s the conclusion? If you tally the score of the five categories, both the NFL and NCAA would be 2-2-1. A tie? How is that an adjudication you ask? Well, as I said in the beginning: “that NCAA football is more creative than the NFL is as unarguable as which organization one prefers to watch.”

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Saturday

Oct112008

The Great Debate: College vs Pro

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Saturday, October 11, 2008 at 10:38AM by

Richard Malangone

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With this website’s unveiling taking place within the last week, today marks our first opportunity to pursue a Saturday-Sunday debate. Which is preferable: Saturday College Football? Or Sunday Pro-Football?

Each one possesses an alluring feature, while each also possesses an unattractive quality. As with any business, (and yes, both are certainly businesses) money always gets in the way. Collegiate athletes, at least in theory, are not compensated for their efforts. They devote all their energy for the good of the game. They become, however, essentially free products of endorsement. Colleges are allowed to exploit their talents in order to draw national attention to their schools. Whether these are ethical endeavors is another story, a story which we can tackle at a later date. For now, let's stick to the debate. College football players play because they want to win. They have four, sometimes five years to achieve as much success at this level as possible. Once monetary value is placed upon their abilities is where it gets complicated.

Professional Football, to their detriment, offers no promises. Players are suddenly forced to ensure financial stability over personal accolades. These motives, however, cannot be fully blamed on the players. The league forces their hand by not guaranteeing contracts. And in a violent game, where any one play can end a career, the most money sought upfront is justifiable. But enough drab, let's move on to more enjoyable aspects of the two leagues.

On the field, which is better? Up until this year, college football stopped the clock after every first down. This rule would thus prolong the games way past the point of enjoyment. On the other hand, professional Football moves with a crisper feel. The only slowdown usually takes place within the last two minutes of each half.

If watched closely, the major difference between the two: defense. On Saturday, offensive players are made to look dominant. The reality is anything but. The defenses are too diluted giving the offenses much room to work. Move these offensive juggernauts to the NFL, and suddenly running-backs' ten-yard runs turn into one-yard struggles - if their lucky.

This greater cause for efficiency leads to classic chess matches in the NFL. Defense wins championships, and as each offensive play is called in from the sidelines, a defensive one is countered. Obviously, colleges employ the same concept, but as noted, the defenses are noticeably inferior. At the NFL level, where parity is preached, the philosophy originates at the line of scrimmage and works itself outward from there.

The NFL is more an organization, whereas the NCAAF is more of a game. Young kids, who most likely will never get a glimpse of an NFL Sunday, extend their athletic careers with four more years of Saturdays. They grow up playing on Fridays, with the hopes of moving to Saturdays, and then ultimately – Sundays. When the realization finally sinks in that Sundays will be for watching, Saturdays take on a life of gamesmanship. For most, the dollar amounts they can get at the NFL level are removed, and finally, the game becomes fun again.

In this writer’s opinion, Sundays are for football. But when Saturdays come around, a game is witnessed. And really, that’s what’s it all about anyway. Which do you prefer?

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