OPINION

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By Syd Jamison

Do you prefer football on Saturday or Sunday? On Saturdays college football reigns supreme, whereas the NFL plays mostly on Sundays. They’re the same sport, but at times they are completely different.

The NFL, as Christian Miller (‘22) put it, “is more of a business.” The NFL made about 15.26 billion dollars in the 2019 season and will continue to grow at approximately a six percent growth rate each year. 

The players have more power in the NFL, but that comes with its own downfalls. As Jack Bradley (‘23) said, “[The NFL] is just a bunch of men begging for money to play football, and if they don’t get the amount they want, then they just hold out or complain.” There are a plethora of players each year who try and hold out, meaning that the player is refusing to practice or play with the team until he forces the front office to give him something that he wants, such as a better contract.

Some of the star NFL players that held out of their team’s mandatory minicamp include Aaron Rodgers, Jamal Adams, Stephon Gilmore, Xavien Howard, and Chandler Jones. Every one of those players has contracts worth between 65 and 134 million dollars, yet they are not satisfied with that and wanted more.

College football does not have this issue. The NCAA does not make money from the television rights and ticket sales of games. Instead, the money goes right back into supporting schools and student-athletes by providing scholarships, team travel, academic programs, and much more. Although the athletes can now make money off of their name, image, and likeness, thanks to the US Supreme Court ruling in the Alston case this summer, this does not give the players an actual contract.

An example of a fantasy football game. Photo credit: Ben Pekarcik.

One thing the NFL does have that the NCAA cannot compete with is fantasy football. Fantasy football is a way to become interconnected between many teams in the NFL and become more engaged in any given game. You draft players in a league with typically anywhere from 6-16 teams, and every time a player on your team does well in a game, he does well on your team. You have a combination of players who play different positions, and you try to pick the best ones to score the most points each week in order to win the league. It makes people turn on NFL games for teams they would rarely ever watch in hopes of catching a great play from one of their players. 

However, college football has the ultimate way of being connected to a team: you can actually attend the college. Or, in the case of someone like George Byford (‘25), your cousin can play on for Virginia Tech Hokies football team. Katherine Goff (‘22) said, “[college football] feels more personal; I feel more connected to the team.” Being attached to a team brings about more feeling and passion than just spectating. You ride with your team along the ups and downs of the games, seasons, and eras. You cheer your heart out to feel the heartbreak of a last-second loss, but by the time the next season rolls around you are hopeful again about the prospect of a conference championship or maybe even a national championship. 

One of the most valuable aspects of college football is the atmosphere inside the stadium during a game. I experienced this when I went to the Georgia vs. Arkansas game in Athens, Georgia on October 2. The stadium was so loud that the Arkansas offensive line could not hear the snap count and had two false starts before they even ran an offensive play.

Patrick Brennan (‘22) went down to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 2019 to see LSU and Alabama play. It was two of the top three teams in the country, and everyone knew it was going to be a great game. Patrick said, “the atmosphere was unlike any other I had ever been to, and people were waiting outside the stadium all morning.” Patrick watches both college and NFL football, but when I asked him which he preferred, he did not hesitate. He said, “Definitely college football, because the fans are more passionate and have more of a love of the game. NFL fans are more into fighting each other. Also, the atmosphere for college schools is better because the stadiums are typically bigger, especially in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), which is known for its stadium environment. The stadiums there have around 90-110 thousand people, whereas the NFL stadiums typically only have 60-70 thousand.” 

The responses to The Match football poll. Image credit: Syd Jamison.

A Match poll was sent out to all Upper School Collegiate students and faculty regarding the two forms of football. The poll consisted of a single question of whether one preferred to watch college football or the NFL. The overwhelming majority chose college football, 64.3% to 35.7%.

In the comments of the poll, some justifications from people who chose the NFL were confusing. These included  “hahahahaha” from Philip Clarke (‘22), “because I don’t know any college teams” from Kana Sakagami (‘25), “sonduy foobjall” from Graham Bor (‘23), “college football just isn’t that exciting” from Jack Henry (‘22), and finally, from Tucker Smith (‘23): “the NFL is just superior.” This gives a brief glance at the questionable reasoning behind those who prefer watching the NFL over college football. While Bor’s point was certainly valid, the atmosphere, lack of drama between players and teams, and being more connected to the teams truly makes college football the best form of the sport. 

Featured image credit: C. John Chavis via Wikimedia Commons.