There is a debate among sports fans which is as old as professional sports: whether collegiate athletics or professional sports are superior to the other. Fans on either side of the issue are adamant in their devotion to one or the other, but many fans prefer college athletics for one sport and professional for the other. The sports which are the subject of the most debate here are basketball and football and while this is an argument which will never be settled; it’s one that fans will also continue to have for as long as professional and collegiate sports are played.
College basketball has March Madness to its credit, something whose appeal even a diehard NBA fan would have a hard time discounting altogether. This tournament keeps college (and professional) basketball fans on the edge of their seats. It’s a tournament where upsets can – and do happen frequently. Underdogs you may not have thought about for years can suddenly upset the seemingly invincible favorite. There are dozens of games in the tournament, so there is nearly always something going on and this is one of the few occasions where betting on sports suddenly becomes socially acceptable, with nearly every workplace having a March Madness pool.
Collegiate basketball proponents make the aversion that college basketball is simply a purer form of the sport. There are certainly plenty of college players who aspire to go on to professional careers, but the vast majority of college players are in it because they just love the game. Fans are as passionate about college basketball as are the players and team loyalties often last a lifetime, which is somewhat less common among NBA fans.
Professional basketball fans aren’t necessarily given to knocking college basketball (since many if not most fans actually enjoy both), but argue that the NBA offers a superior level of play and competition. They aver that the league provides fans with an opportunity to watch the sport played by the nation’s very best players.
The seven game series format means that the best team will usually end up winning, which means that justice is usually served and the long season that takes place before the postseason is worthwhile. Detractors will point to that though and say that it takes some of the magic out of the game, and as upsets are less likely to happen and miracles are less likely to be seen.
As far as football is concerned, the talk almost always comes back to the playoffs. NFL proponents point to the Bowl Championship Series, which they argue is inherently unfair. It is certainly true that the college playoffs don’t offer the teams a chance to prove their merit through direct competition. Instead, the playoffs are put together through polling and computerized analysis. A team could be the best in the country and still have no chance to make it to the Rose Bowl unless they are ranked first or second by this curious system – making the college football playoffs something many fans skip (unless their alma mater happens to be in the running).
Meanwhile fans of the college game will say that this format makes the regular season much more exciting. Since one loss can permanently knock you out of championship contention, each and every game is of equal importance. Every moment is huge, and a team must strive for perfection throughout the year. They argue that in pro football mediocre teams can have a chance to play with the best at the end of the year, making the regular season less worthwhile.
Fans on either side of the college versus professional sports schism are unlikely to change their minds. This is a debate which is not likely to be settled soon, if indeed ever, but fans don’t have to choose of course; they can watch exactly what they want from each league and experience collegiate and professional athletics in their own way.
- 0