Football is the most popular game in the United States and in Canada. People engage in any sport with different reasons either for pleasure, entertainment, for scholarship, for the love of the game or as a platform for professional playing. For college students, most of them play college football to nurture their talent and attain a prominent opportunity of playing professionally. College football is football that is played by a team of student athletes fielded by colleges, universities and military academies. It is mostly played by American student athletes and Canadian student athletes fielded from American and Canadian universities (Stewart 24). It is through college football that football has gained popularity around the world especially in the United States. College football has been around for sometime compared to professional football and it has many people in support of it. College football has become very popular in the United States than professional playing for both the fans and players. This is owing to remarkable marketing over the last 20 years and mainly because professional football players come from college football players.
Many professional players started playing football while in college. This makes college football more popular because, many young players wish to become professional players and they have to start it at college level. Its popularity has called for many masses coming to watch the upcoming talent and follow their careers from college into professionalism. There is a lot of excitement in the atmosphere as there is no greed and egos in the game. Many people turn up to watch the future starts of professional football as they all come from college football players thus this makes it popular. The game is not commercialized like professional playing and thus the fans enjoy the game and the competitive spirit of the sport they love.
A lot of people feel that college football is more exciting than professional football thus making it popular. College football has great cheerleaders, playing bands and this entertains the people watching it thus attracting a large group of people. College bands and cheerleaders are an integral part of college football. They attract a lot of fans making college football more popular and when on is in the stadium the music makes them motivated and support their team fully into winning compared to pro sports atmosphere where people even end up fighting after losing the match. Many students and young people at large cannot miss a chance to come watch college football because it is electrifying and has so much pageantry making it more popular among the youth. It makes students go crazy as it is a form of entertainment to them. Moreover, the game is very interesting as the players do not play for money but for the honor and glory of their teams and college or university. This attracts many fans the local people and the alumni of the team get the chance to attend as it is at times free to watch compared to professional football which is very expensive as one has to pay in order to enter the stadium and watch professionals play. College players play the game because they love the game and not for money and therefore, they leave a lot of passion on the field than professionals do and this attracts a lot of people even the professionals to come watch making it more popular for all people.
Moreover, college football has become very popular because many colleges and universities want to nurture future professional players. They want to identify with their students when they become professionals and so they encourage college football so as bring out the best football players in the world. These players make their colleges very popular thus attracting many students to join (Ingrassia 112).
In addition, college football is always played on Saturday and this attracts large masses of people since Saturday is the best day of the week because most people are at home and do not work on that day. This makes college football popular as the fans will have the luxury of watching their sport with a lot of ease while professional football fans have to settle for a second runner up since it is played at any day of the week. It gives people an opportunity to get together and socialize with friends and family and former school mates. College football season is appealing for everyone and brings happiness to the fans. Also, college players are not traded like pro players and even if a college player is transferred to another school, it is basically a non-issue in college athletics compared to pro football whereby if a player is transferred to a particular team, it brings confusion to the fans and their allegiance for the team might become muddled. Thankfully, this confusion does not affect college fans since college football is more team and less player oriented. The fans are just there to support their team from a specific college or university and not a player.
On the other hand, college football is popular but the players are not paid after the game. According to Wilbon, college football is broadcasted across televisions, radio, newspapers and over the internet and it generates a lot of income for their respective schools. A great injustice is being done on college football athletes because they should at least be paid a certain amount from the revenues that are generated from their games. The players should be rewarded for good performance since many of them end up dropping out of college to go play professionally. College football generates a lot of money and without college athletes; many colleges and universities could not be popular.
In conclusion, college football has become very popular and thrives in cities regions and towns where professional football has failed to thrive. The love for college football has been passed from one generation to another thus attracting many fans. The fans do not have to worry about the outcomes of the games since the players are regarded as hometown heroes regardless of whether they win or not and where they come from. Many professional football players have been nurtured through college football and this is why it will always remain popular around the globe. College football is attractive and entertaining and most people spend their Saturdays enjoying the game. Moreover, college football has undefeated teams and bitter rivalry games that have attracted people for a very long time thus remaining popular. College football is more than a game.
Works Cited
Stewart, Bruce K. "American Football” American History 30.5 (1995): 24-34. Print.
Keteyian, Arme and Jeff, Benedict. The System: The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football. New York: Doubleday, 2013. Print.
Ingrassia, Brian M. The Rise of Gridiron University: Higher Education's Uneasy Alliance with Big-Time Football. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2012. Print.
Wilbon, Michael. "College Athletes Deserve to be paid." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
