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| Pros | 20% | 39 votes | Total: 198 votes | |
| College | 80% | 159 votes |
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Add to FavoritesPassion is hard to measure. Most of the time we see passion as the "pure energy" and zeal that overflows from the teenagers involved in most college contests. Most adults display passion in a different way, especially men. We are taught to keep a handle on our emotions. NFL referees now penalize "excessive celebration" and "taunting" as unsportsmanlike conduct or similarly named penalties. How can professional male athletes be expected to show passion in the same way as there college counterparts when they are taught and judged for doing so?
Passion is displayed by these men in their dedication to high performance on the field. By work ethic and drive to win. By attitude toward the game and acting as role models for the future generations. When we seek perfection in our jobs and lives, that is passion. When players "take plays off" or come out of games at the first chance they get, that shows a lack of passion and commitment to the profession they have chosen. So the next time we discuss passion in sports let's remember the boundaries that are in place between college and professional athletes. One set are expected to be emotional and energetic, the other gets blackballed or penalized for equally ecstatic behavior. Before we can say who is most passionate we have to define it. I would argue that you see plenty more pros who fit the description I have given for professional passion then you do college kids showing their type of passion. Professionals understand passion and when to make it known or keep it inside. The best pros keep their passionate drive inside until the crucial moments when they need it to be displayed, college athletes are much less in tune with themselves and tend to let it out all the time. Passion is much deeper then emotions.
Learn more about this author, Paul Craft.
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College
When it comes down to it, college football is surely played with more passion than professional football. College players are still playing for the game. They are playing for the fun, the recognition, and their pride...something that seems to lack on the pro level. Can you remember the good 'ol days when you played just to play? Do you remember what it felt like just to be on that field? If the pro players of today played with that same amount of passion and love, it would be noticed by all of their fans. Instead, we've seen the fame and money go to their heads. We've seen them break the law and walk away from punishment. Money may buy their freedom most of the time, but it can never buy their passion and commitment.
Watching the Saturday games in the fall, we can feel the power...the competition...the drive to succeed. Those players are fighting their way to the top to prove something. They're driven by an inner need to win - not for their fans, but for themselves. For every completed pass, every interception, and every touchdown their desire to play the game is apparent. Whether or not they ever play the game again is not what matters to them. Sure, you have some college players that are out there to try to make it into the NFL. But, in those same games, you have the players that may end up being lawyers, doctors, or accountants. Most of them may never play the game again...and it doesn't matter. College players are playing for today. They're on that field Saturday afternoons for who they are now...not who they may be in 5 years.
I'm not saying that professional football isn't great - I'm a die-hard fan. My television flips between all the games on Sunday afternoons. The only difference is why they play...what it means...how it feels. So, when it comes down to it, football is the greatest sport in the world. From the pee-wee leagues to high school, the whole way to pro status - football is what it is...only a game. A game where the best athletes shine above all the others.
Learn more about this author, Michele Frey.
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