Recreational Holidays

College vs. Professional Sports - Which Do You Prefer?

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.

Proponents of college basketball also mention how it is more pure. Some players have pro aspirations, sure, but most are just college athletes who have already maxed out their potential. Therefore they are playing because they love the game, not just for money or prestige. Their passion is easily seen, as is the passion of the fans of each and every team. A loyalty to college teams exists in stronger fashion than for many pro teams.

The fans of pro basketball don’t deny the attraction of college basketball and a lot of NBA fans are just as excited about March Madness as the most devoted fans of the college teams. However, they make the point that there is a level of play and competitiveness in professional basketball which collegiate basketball programs can’t match, with the very best of the country’s basketball talent on display.

The seven game series which make up the NBA playoffs are pointed to by fans as a way of guaranteeing that the best team will emerge victorious. While it’s hard to claim that the NBA playoffs offer more excitement than March Madness, they also make the point that regular season games are more compelling events.

When college vs. NBA football is the subject, the playoffs are invariably the center of discussion. NBA fans will make the argument that the college Bowl series uses a deeply flawed system where the teams aren’t actually able to prove themselves in competition. The course of the college football playoffs are largely determined by computer analysis and voting rather than the direct competition of the NFL playoffs. Unless they are ranked number one or two by this odd system, even the best college team has no chance of making it to a Bowl game.

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.

Each side in this long running debate is unlikely to change any minds on the other side and this is one place where fans simply have to agree to disagree - though many fans find a lot of enjoyment in the discussion itself. What it really comes down to is something that the fans already know: they don’t have to choose one or the other and there’s nothing stopping them from enjoying all of the excitement that collegiate and professional sports have to offer.