College Football vs NFL: Key Differences
The South has always been the home of college football, and it still is. In the southern states, football is a way of life, from the small-town high school team to the local university. We all have the great state of Texas and the wonderful series (and book, allow me not to include the movie) 'Friday Night Lights' in our memories. But the South isn't America, not even in football, because a 2012 ESPN survey of fans showed that 62% of Americans prefer the NFL while 38% prefer college football. Looking at the state by state, 33 of them are more into professional sports while 17 are more into college sports.
On the map, it can be seen that the blue states are NFL and the red states are college football the darker the color, the more fans of that competition there are. An area with large concentrations of NFL fans, particularly the New England states (Patriots) and the mid Atlantic (Jets and Giants). The axis is made up of Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware (we also have the District of Columbia here) and belongs to the Ravens and the Redskins, but in Virginia, the relationship with its neighboring state falls apart (thanks to the Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies).
Professional Smateur Status
Its bad friends in the west are more college football fans with the Marshall Thundering Herd and the West Virginia Mountaineers. Pennsylvania is another NFL stronghold (the Steelers and Eagles), but Penn State has the second-largest stadium in the United States (Beaver Stadium with 107,000 attendees). In the northern part of the Midwest, there are also Illinois (the Bears ahead of historic but unproductive programs like the Fighting Illini and Northwestern Wildcats) Wisconsin
The Badgers' program is good, but nothing can overshadow the Packers) Indiana (the Colts have won the state's fervor for the last twenty years, ahead of Notre Dame and even basketball) and Minnesota (Vikings ahead of the miserable Golden Gophers). It's surprising that more rural states without NFL franchises, usually those most associated with college football, such as the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming, support professionalism so much (plus the first two mentioned). The reason is the lack of competitive college football programs.
Reception of Passes
Those that remain conscious of their northern origins are Ohio and Michigan, also benefiting from NFL teams with less than their fortunes (the Bengals, Browns, and Lions). Ohio, with its Buckeyes, and Michigan, with its Wolverines and Spartans, are sanctuaries for college football, and not only that. In the upper Midwest, the Rams can slightly outnumber the Missouri Tigers in the baseball state of Missouri, and Kentucky, surprisingly, also has more NFL fans than college fans despite Louisville and the Wildcats, though they've always been basketball fans.
The big haven of college football. Where university football breathes in every county. Furthermore, some states take advantage of not having an NFL franchise, such as South Carolina (Clemson) and South Carolina, Alabama (Auburn and the Crimson Tide), Mississippi (Ole Miss and the Bulldogs), Arkansas (the Razorbacks), and, lumping them into the Southern football category, Oklahoma (Oklahoma State and the Sooners), Kansas (Kansas State and the Jayhawks), and Nebraska (Cornhuskers).
Point Conversions
Louisiana, Tennessee, and Georgia are three of the five states in the United States where college football is the most important thing despite having an NFL franchise (Saints, Titans, and Falcons). Football is a religion at all levels, starting in high school. But despite what it may seem, professionalism prevails somewhat among fans despite the traditions in each town, county, and university. The same is true in Florida (UCF, Miami, Florida, and Florida State).
There are two Texas NFL franchises in the state (the Cowboys and the Texans) compared to twenty-three programs in Division I of the NCAA, including the Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M, SMU, Houston, TCU, Baylor and Texas Tech. Three states with great football programs but no NFL franchise are the last bastions of college football in the country outside the South Idaho (Boise State), Oregon (the Ducks and Oregon State) and Utah (the Utes, Aggies and BYU).
Conclusion
There are also NFL-less states but with bad football programs and a high inclination to turn the TV on Sundays instead of Saturdays (Wyoming, New Mexico and Nevada, the latter more reasonable because it is more attractive to bet on NFL games than college games). While in California, Arizona, Colorado and Washington, their NFL groups establish a much stronger following despite the multiple and in many cases outstanding college football programs In theory, the huge difference between the NFL and college football is their player status.
NFL players are professionals, and NCAA players are amateurs. The NCAA maintains Amateur competition is a basic principle of collegiate athletics. Maintaining amateurism is crucial to preserving an academic environment in which the acquisition of a quality education is the first priority. However, the NCAA's amateurism has been tested by a number of issues in recent years. These ultimately led to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals in September 2015 that upheld the status quo of amateurism. This ensures that athletes cannot receive benefits whose value exceeds the cost of attending college.
Comments
Post a Comment