I'm going to be perfectly honest with you — I don't understand people who like college sports more than professional sports.
This topic seems to come up in regard to football and especially basketball more than any other sports. It's not often you hear someone talk up college hockey over the NHL or the ping of college baseball over the crack of the MLB bat. But when it comes to college football and college basketball, there are hordes of fans who vow that the college games are so much better than the pros.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love college football and college basketball. And I do mean love. In fact, the NCAA Tournament is literally my favorite thing in the universe. It really is. But I will never, ever say the college game — in football or basketball — is better than the pros. Never.
The arguments tend to go that the tradition of college football and bond to a school outweigh anything in the NFL, while the passion of college basketball players, playing for the love of the game, is so much better than the lackadaisical play you see on a night-to-night basis in the NBA.
To me, none of that makes sense. I mean, sure, passion for a school and the traditions are key, but the NFL is full of the best of the best doing things at the highest level. The players on a whole are bigger, stronger, faster and better. They know more about game planning, preparation and film study. They are smarter, more experienced and more talented. And their passion is rarely questioned. If you aren't passionate about football and giving it your all, especially at the NFL level, you won't last long. Physically, the game won't allow it.
As for the NBA vs. college basketball argument, please. I hear people say NBA players take nights off all the time — and as someone who watches more NBA games than I probably should, I can simply say this isn't true. Are there nights when some players seem off? Sure. The grind of an 82-game schedule will do that. But that doesn't mean they're dogging it. Honestly, I can't recall watching a player not try for an entire game. I really can't. Not even Andrew Bynum. OK, maybe Andrew Bynum.
But simply put, NBA players are better in every conceivable way. They miss fewer shots, miss fewer free throws, make fewer bad passes, play better defense. Oh, and like football, they are bigger, faster, stronger, smarter, better. They know how and when to go over or under a screen. They know how to space the floor. They know when to iso and when to run set plays. They know how to funnel a player to help defense or his weaker side. They know how to play the game better, and they physically can do more on the court than the vast majority of college players.
Professional athletes are passionate, otherwise they wouldn't be where they're at. They put in hard work every day, whether fans see it or not, just like the college players. Only they're better. In fact, they're the best.
I'm sorry, but at the end of the day, I want to watch the best of the best playing at the highest level that sports have to offer. That is the NFL and the NBA, not the NCAA.
College athletics are incredible. I love them. But if you want to see the best that football and basketball have to offer, there is no other option than the professional ranks. So while you may prefer the college game, it's simply not factual to say that college athletics are "better." Because they aren't. The players are better in the pros. The games are better than the pros. The execution is better in the pros. Because the pro sports are, well, better.
So go ahead and keep touting the virtues of college football and college basketball over the NFL and NBA all you want. I'll keep on appreciating the incredible feats of the best sports have to offer.