by Lakeccrunner

Created on: December 14, 2010

There is really no competition when comparing college basketball and the NBA. The NBA is fun to watch, but lacks some of the aspects that make the college game so great.

The biggest problem with the NBA is the money. Whether it's true or not, it's easy to think that the players don't care about winning or losing, and only care about their paycheck. In college, it's all about the love of the game. The players will play as hard as they can to win the game. The competition is fierce and many times filled with rivalry and strong emotions. This is the major appeal during the months of March and April during the NCAA Tournament. The Tournament dominates television networks during these months due to the major fan-base of the college game. In the NBA, there isn't the same type of drive to win the game as there is in the college game. Maybe it's the money, maybe it's because an 82-game season is too long to give 100% in every game, but at any rate, it takes away from the overall sense of competition.

Simply attending a big college game and an NBA game show the kinds of emotions associated with each of the leagues. Although NBA games usually draw bigger crowds, the college crowds are the ones that have more effect on the game. The emotionally charged college crowds are on their feet the entire game, jumping, and yelling as loud as they can; literally rattling the arena and having a direct impact on the game and giving the home team a major advantage. The only NBA game in recent memory to draw such a crowd was LeBron James' return to Cleveland. It did draw the same type of crowd, but It takes a big event in the NBA to draw the types of crowds that college games draw everyday.

The NBA used to be different. There used to be the big-time rivalries and the type of crowds that make the college game great, but these elements have since been eliminated from the game and has damaged the popularity of the NBA. If rivalry returned, the die-hard fans would also return. The major problem lies within the friendships between all of the players. The history of the NBA is filled with heated rivalries and hatred between teams, but in recent years, these type rivalries have died out because of all of the friendship both on and off the court. If these rivalries can be re-established, the NBA has a serious chance of rivaling college basketball in popularity and the quality of entertainment.

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