You had me from the get go, but the hungry Alabama kids hit close to home ;) I always thought he NFL was boring; it lacks the passion and intensity of college rivalries. I would choose a night at Bryant Denny or Death Valley over a yawner at LP field in Nashville anyday.

College football is better by far. Like you, Stewart, I could list (100) reasons why college is better. But the bottom line reason is that your college team / institution is going to be there for you, through the generations...as opposed to your NFL franchise, who might skip town next year if they don't feel "secure"!

College Football is definitely a better sport to watch. I wouldn't watch the NFL now if it wasn't for Fantasy Football. I would not trade any of my experiences at Michigan Stadium for any single NFL game.

You know. The one thing I love about college football that hasn't been brought up is the fact there is no benefit in tanking your season. We see it (come on don't pretend) every year where some NFL teams tank to get a better shot at draft picks. In college, not only is this not an issue and disgraceful, but there is absolutely no benefit. In fact it is only a deterrent from possibly acquiring high level recruits.

College Football easily.

1. Rivalries don't get any better than in College football (Ohio State/Michigan, UF/FSU to name a few)

2. Passion of the game. Not for money. And don't even think it's about the NFL draft. In the heat of the moment, it isn't about stats, it's the love of your school.

3. Halftime band.

Most people who know football (Fantasy and Playstation types excluded) prefer college to the NFL. If you could sum up the difference with one observation it would be this: When was the last time you saw NFL fans tear down the goalposts after a huge victory and then spontaneously parade through town?

After much thought I will add this in defense of the NFL...the East Coast bias is not as pronounced as it is in college. My theory is that on Saturday everyone on the East Coast is wasted by the time the Pacific Time Zone games come on TV. On Sunday they may have been at Church and they are not as inebriated; therefore, they can follow the West Coast games and teams better.

The only thing NFL and College football have in common is the common game, with a few rule changes/modifications. Beyond that, arguing which one is better is spitting into the wind. Tell an OSU or Michigan fan that NFL is better and see what happens.....tell a Browns or Steelers fan that college is better...tell a Packers season ticket holder that college is better. This is an exercise in futility.

From Fan Nation, Tin Man: "Pro football was cool in the 1960s, when players scoring touchdowns just handed the ball to the ref at the end of the play. If you're not old enough to remember the great players of that era, many awards are named for them - Biletnikoff, Butkus... team players, athletes worthy of emulation. Then came the generations of end zone dances, sack dances, steroids, "hit men" proudly proclaiming their purpose to "take out" an opposing player by inflicting a deliberate career-ending injury, prancers, dancers, taunters... culminating in cell-phone calls from the field of play - self-aggrandizement of a staggering scale. Sadly, this pollution of unsportsmanlike behavior infected collegiate sports, prep sports, and even Pop Warner football. The poison has been ruinous to youth and community values beyond the realm of sports. For every Reggie White or Peyton Manning, there are dozens of Michael Vicks, Terrell Owens, and "Pac-Man" Jones in the pro game. A few admirable men cannot redeem pro football. The NFL itself lacks the core values to even want to change. No association with the United Way will whitewash the stain.

If their is any chance to save American football, it resides on college campuses, From division 1A down to division III, teams tied to institutions of higher learning with traditions of instilling values and molding adults into productive citizens can still provide an example to inspire American youth. Surely, the pro-born poison still seeps into the college game - Who can forget Marcus Vick stomping upon the leg of a prone opponent in a nationally televised bowl game? Or the then coach of Colorado refusing to forfeit a "victory" falsely won on a fifth-down play because his team might be in consideration for a National Championship? At least, the NCAA and the CFA are making efforts to fight the infection.

Every year, most college football players leave their schools to embark upon careers other than the pro game. Yet their contributions on the field of play will be remembered by institutions that existed before they were born and will continue to exist after their deaths.

The college game is hope eternal. The college game is loyalty undying. The college game is "we" and not "me." Collegiate sports are so much more than any professional league can ever be.

Which would you rather witness? That's a personal choice. This Fall, I'll be following college football. When all of these games have been played, I may tune in to a broadcast of a pro playoff game... if an admirable man is setting an example on the field of play."

Stewart,

Don't let up on your argument regarding the respective intensity of the sports. No pro football stadium can match the lunatic fervor you'll see in the players and fans at Neyland Stadium, or the Horseshoe, or the Swamp, or Death Valley, or [insert favorite here.

This is the wrong blog to put some pro-NFL comments, but here goes:

When you talk about hope is eternal in college, tell that to Vandy or Baylor fans. They never have a chance at an NCAA Championship. (I wont even go into the NCAA's lack of a playoff system to crown a true champion. That should end the argument right there). Even the worst NFL franchise has the hope of becoming competitive.

As for some unsavory characters in the NFL, when was the last NFL recruiting scandal? You dont see NFL teams pretend to be universities (I'm looking at you SEC) or recruit players with sex (There you go Colorado and we wont go into all the rape charges).

So please dont claim the NCAA is all hope and quiet Saturday afternoons. It is a business with seedy characters too.

College football is far better than the NFL. I was once a big Cowboys fan. Every Sunday and Monday night I was in front of the TV. These days the NFL is full of BS. There is no team loyalty, it's all about the money. As far as the argument that unranked teams have no shot at the BCS title game, that is not always true. 7 pts in the LSU game and 12 pts against Florida and Arkansas (who stared the season unranked) would have had a shot the the game. I'm not trying to argue they would have beat out Michigan, but the chance would have been there.

there are some teams in the NFl still worth watching, bears, pats, green bay, and a few others. these teams are loaded with team oriented guys(i.e. Brian urlacher, tom brady, tedy brushi, farve, harrison, even payton Manning) who love the game of football and would never do anything to put themselves beofr the game. these men just love to compete.

I love pro football. I've rooted for the Chargers my whole life. But, once I went to college my alliance changed. The Chargers are still my favorite NFL team but college football has become an absolute passion. I live and die with every snap of the ball.

With the all tradition and excitement of college football it is by far the better product.

GO DEVILS!!!

I'm for the NFL. Colleges and Universities should not even have varsity sports. Like frats, they take away from the overall learning experience of the academic community. The NFL should create a minor league, where would-be college players can make money and focus on the more important things in their lives, not math or science.

I'm currently in college and our football team is a perennial power in college football. Having varsity sports is obviously a distraction from studying (from an athlete and fan point of view), but theres more to life than sticking your nose in a book and getting straight A's. Varsity sports provides a way for many to pay for college (through scholarships), it allows people to continue doing what they love after high school and its great entertainment for the students. Ever wonder why MIT has such a depressing school with socially inept kids? Because they have one focus (academics) and one focus only

You can obviously find die-hard, loyal fans on both sides of this argument. To me, the largest difference between college and pro football is the permanence that school campuses provide: a college football team will always reside in the same location, for the same city. The NFL can't claim that. Even though both systems are business driven, it's hard to deny that there isn't more warmth in college football, at least from those on the field.

I'll be supporting my alma mater from San Diego: Go No. 20!

Even if we put aside that the NFL has the better players, teams and schemes, it has one thing college can't even pretend to have - a real champion. The champion is determined on the field, not in the press box. Even with the BCS, the team that belongs in the championship is all conjecture.

No matter what you try to say about the enthusiasm of the college campus, or what you try to pass off as some kind of purity of the game when reporting on recruiting is a multi-million dollar industry the college game can't escape what it is in the end - a Junior Pro league that still manages to not pay its players with no championship except for a group of games controlled by a corrupt oligarchy.

College football by far. the college game is exciting and the teams take chances with play calling. The pro game does everything depending on down and distance. the pros have very little inmagination. The college overtime is a great idea, unlike the pro version. Go Buckeyes!

College by far. If you poll the people you know who prefer the NFL you'll find that either their university sucked in football, didn't have a team or they didn't ever attend an institution of higher learning. The rivalries simply don't exist in the NFL to the scale that is in NCAA football.

To me, the best thing about college football vs the NFL is the importance of every game. In college, many/most years, if you lose a game, then there goes your shot at a championship. On the flip side, no team in the NFL has gone undefeated in 30+ years, so everybody knows it's not the end of the world to lose. This makes the college game a more intense experience for everyone--players, coaches and fans.

Also, it seems to me that despite the year-to-year parity that exists in the NFL, there are fewer upsets of lower-tier teams over upper-tier teams than there are in college. And these expected results add to the excitement of the college game.

Sean, pro football has the greatest minor league there is, its called COLLEGE FOOTBALL. It is far bigger than any other non-pro sport and even bigger than several pro sports.You comments about detracting from the collegiate learning experience seem to suggest you either did not go to college or not to a college football school. Sports in general are a common bond for all students no matter what background or position to rally together behind. Its supporting your team, your school and your pride that you are a member of that school, and that in turn identifies you with everyone else at that same college. I am a Hokie and will forever be a Hokie. I am confident that everyone who went to my school would say the same. And this is what make college football far superior to pro.

Simply put... college kids play for pride and love of the game... to most of these players, no $$$ is ever going to come from football. Its all about love of the game. That passion and intensity goes a long way.

What about tickets in the $10-$40 range in college as opposed to $70-$150 range. (And sneaking in your $10 pint of Jim Beam and buying a couple of Cokes instead of spending $32+ on eight dollar beers)

Hey cornerstone -

"Ever wonder why MIT has such a depressing school with socially inept kids? Because they have one focus (academics) and one focus only"

I am an MIT alumnus, and I can say you're totally wrong. You might be surprised to find that MIT has the most sports offerings of any NCAA school, and close to 20% of our student body plays a sport (I played two, track and football). We believe that it helps sharpen the mind and balance life, and it's a lot of fun.

As to socially inept kids, you can find a few geeks at the Institute, but mostly we're a school of people who turned down Harvard/Yale/Stanford to go to the world's best technical institution.

For the record, everyone on an NFL field, coaches included, always look constipated. College players let it all hang out.