by Tyson Abaroa

Created on: October 30, 2009

A few weeks ago I was watching a random college football game on a Saturday afternoon. I am a fan for anything out of my home state of Arizona, so when my wife found me watching the battle between Arkansas and Alabama she asked why I was watching the game, seeing how neither team was from Arizona. I just looked at her and said, Because, it's college football emphasis on college.

Only a small percent of the college athletes will go on to become professional athletes. Most of these athletes know it and leave everything on the field. They know they are only playing for school pride, glory, and a free education. The energy that these athletes emit is what makes college ball so great.

Some people may think that college ball is overrated and they are entitled to their opinion. Personally I could watch football all day on Saturday, but when it comes to the NFL I have a one game limit on Sunday. There are great plays and great players in the NFL, but the human drama is in the NCAA. Who could pass up a game for bragging rights between the two winningest teams of all time, Michigan and Notre Dame? Who wants to miss out on the drama between Army and Navy? These two teams are usually horrible football teams but attract millions of viewers when they face each other each year. We see these college athletes give everything they have as individuals for their team and their school.

In the NFL it feels like there is something missing that can only be found in the NCAA. In the professional realm I see athletes giving this kind of drive and determination when the season is approaching playoff time or when individual contracts are coming to an end. I believe that if a person is worth a multi-million dollar contract, then he deserves every penny. However, it is frustrating to see some athletes give just enough to keep their worth until they can try and get a better deal with someone else. Sometimes we see too much of a me attitude with professional players that makes us sick of them

Fall is my favorite time of year. I shock my wife by doing all the Saturday chores on Thursday night. She gets sick of football on Saturday but I just can't stop watching young energetic athletes displaying their school pride, their team's determination, and their personal passion.

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