Week 4 + Conferences

               Week 4 begins with a blowout as the start of conference play between some power-house football teams.  The BIG 12 has two top 10 teams squaring off in the desert on Saturday afternoon as #7 Oklahoma State travels to #8 Texas A+M.  There has been a lot of talk surrounding the Big 12 after so many teams left the conference this past summer and with the future of the conference unknown it’s a thrill to start of conference play with a bang. Stanley and I have already designated it as the game to watch at 3:30.

                The SEC opens conference play with #14 Arkansas traveling to #3 Alabama. This game on at 3:30 will show off the speed that the SEC holds, and there tradition of dominating out of conference teams. But, keep an eye on #2LSU traveling to #16 West Virginia in a game filled with blue and gold. This night game will be determined through special teams because both teams are able to put points on the scoreboard but there lies question marks in each team’s defense.  Although Les Miles will be coaching in a hostile environment, there isn’t a doubt in the great Stanley’s mind that LSU should not get the win.

                 Stanley and I have our Saturday all planned out with some great college football games. One topic that is just hard to break away from is the fact that every conference is changing teams. This past weekend the University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University each signed a letter saying they want to leave the Big East. Okay, now I know that the Big East has not been the most successful conference in football for since Donovan McNabb went to Syracuse in the last 1990’s. But, COME ON! You want to be the team to beat in the Big East instead of West Virginia or Cincinnati, why don’t you get your players motivated and play some hard core football and win some non-conference games and make some noise in the bowls instead of being the laughing stock of the BCS.  I can understand why some schools are wanting to leave there conference just because the competition is tough and they haven’t been able to be successful or they want to leave just because the location of their college compared to the other conferences.  To be completely honest the way the conferences were set-up before the summer of 2011 were fine and should have remained the same. I don’t have a problem with Nebraska entering the Big 10, or Colorado moving to the Pac 12 so that teams that deserve to be in an automatic qualifier conference like Boise State and TCU could make a move into larger conferences. It just seems that since one team has made the transition to a new conference that every other team wants to jump on the “bag wagon” and follow what others are doing. The way the teams are set-up in each conference should not be about how much money the team can make through endorsements or about television programs, it should be about COLLEGE FOOTBALL.

NCAA vs NFL

              One argument that seems to go on between friends and family is which sport is better in general, college football or professional football.  What is truly “better”?  I consider better into three seperate categories: players commitment, percentage watched on t.v. and game's atmosphere.

 College Football                                                                                                          NFL

                   VS

              

Okay, once a college player makes it to the NFL sometime changes about their personality. To me, it seems that as soon as they are able to sign the big contract and get endorsements from huge multi-million companies they lose focus on what’s important which is the game of football. I feel that athletes lose the desire and motivation they had when they were just playing the game because they loved to play.  That once money got thrown into the equation they think that they are something amazing and lose focus on playing for the team. In college football, each athlete may not make it to the NFL; their main purpose is to gain an education.  I just believe that it’s all about the money to professional athletes in any professional sport, and that playing for a team and college is more of a message that American’s should hear.  So, in terms of player’s commitment I believe that college football has more committed athletes.

                 When comparing sports one thing that needs to be brought up is how often is such sports are televised and how many people watch the event. For instance, the Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event in the country every year.  On the contrary the college football national championship is among the top watched event every year in sports.  But, on a week to week basis there is fantasy football and other games involved with the NFL thus, in reality, the NFL is probably watched more or televised more to the American public then college football.

                Lastly is the game’s atmosphere. Ever been to Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, or Florida on a Saturday afternoon in autumn? These are just a few of the many college football stadiums in the country that pack over 100,000 screaming fans into their stadium to see their favorite team take the field. Compared to the NFL, where most of the fans are there to see their team win but it is often not at the intensity level of a college football game is at. There is just something about an entire student section all wearing matching colors to scream for 60 minutes as there team battles for a victory.  In terms of the game’s atmosphere I give the edge to college football.

                Thus on a 2-1 victory, College football is arguably better than the NFL.

Football Returns, the 2011 Opening Weekend

            It didn’t take much for Stanley and I to get excited for the opening college football season. Our whole weekend consisted of watching football games and eating cheese.

<-- Stanley

         Friday night after the Shoremen victory over the Raiders of Shaker Heights, Stanley decided to rest and watch some football. #14 TCU was playing Baylor, a team that you would expect TCU to beat. But, Baylor came out on fire and ended up beating TCU 50-46. Stanley and I looked deep into each other’s eyes and were awestruck by the first game we watched of the 2011 college football season.

                 Saturday afternoon began with a late breakfast and a quick run through the metro parks, Stanley “the babe magnet” Doogers, got every hot woman’s attention when he was running through the park with his well-groomed fur coat and his puppy dog brown eyes. He’s always fun to take running in the metro parks. Once we got home we watched some more football. Notre Dame was playing South Florida, where Lou Holtz’s (a famous Notre Dame Coach) son was playing his dad’s Alma matter. This game was thrilling due to the fact that Notre Dame had twice as many yards as South Florida but with 5 turnovers, quite depressing.  

                That night Stanley and I made marshmallows around the fire and had a 6-pack of soda while the game of the week came on: Oregon vs. LSU in Dallas TX. This game was packed with entertainment as LSU ended up winning 40-27. Stanley wanted Oregon to win while LSU was my favorite team this year, so we had our own little fights during the game.

                             Next weekend Stanley and I will probably be following the same schedule but this time watching games such as Georgia vs. South Carolina and Notre Dame at Michigan!