College Basketball vs. College Football

[Brad Palmer]

Many people say if college football were to institute a playoff, the regular-season would be meaningless.

After a day like today, how can people say that the regular-season in college basketball has no excitement or meaning???

 

[superjohn]

College bball is so much better than college football, it amazes me that college football is so popular.

 

[Tenspro2002]

College bball is so much better than college football, it amazes me that college football is so popular.

If you leave the bubble that is SEC country (a football powerhouse but a basketball wasteland), you'd probably find the interest about even.

 

[mauconnfan]

If you leave the bubble that is SEC country (a football powerhouse but a basketball wasteland), you'd probably find the interest about even.

It may be even to the college football fans but it is hard to believe. Imagine playing your last regular season game or league championship only to start preparing for a game more than a month away? College football is a joke but it's also money maker nonetheless.

 

[RuffRuff]

Leave it up to the Deep South to tilt the scales. A place where NASCAR is also considered awesome, where highways are named after evangelists. The problem with the Deep South is that the border kind of starts at outside of New Jersey and doesn't stop until you hit California.

Here is the thing with football versus any other sport - it's the setting. It's regular - Saturday's in the fall, on days off, the tailgating, fairly repetetive as to whom you play, consistent rivalries and because there are so few games, every game has juice. It's just more festive setting. I'm a huge NFL fan, maybe moreso than college hoops until February and a lot of that is probably attributed to those types of qualities. And it's a great TV sport.

 

[sdhusky]

If you leave the bubble that is SEC country (a football powerhouse but a basketball wasteland), you'd probably find the interest about even.

If by even, you mean overwhelmingly for football, you would be correct. Otherwise, just a stupid post.

 

[ctchamps]

Football outdoes basketball in terms of fan interest. The numbers of fans who watch football exceed the fans who watch basketball even with the far greater number of basketball games played.

Part of the problem is the limitation of the basket ball arenas versus the football stadiums. But part of the problem is the dilution of basket ball games.

The football powers, rightfully or wrongly, have limited the dilution of their product. I'm not only referring to the number of games, but the number of teams that have access to the premier players in the game.

I always wondered if the top 64 basket ball schools established themselves into some quasi non NCAA set of leagues, dictated the terms to the media, and reduced their schedules to eliminate most of the weak portion of their schedule, they could drive up their value of their product and increase fan viewership.

 

[Ts5034]

I know im in the minority but i like basketball a lot more than football, this includes NFL. I agree that its a joke how college football works. I think there are a lot of inconsistencies. How do you have some conferences play a championship game and others dont? I also think its strange how schools like a Boise St know before they even play a game that there is probably a 99% chance they wont play for a NC no matter how good their season is. Isnt that what the goal is, winning a national championship?

Thats why i dont understand what the "BCS Bowls" mean. I know the tradition and history with the Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and Sugar but honestly what does that mean for the teams that win them. Like i said before i thought you play to win a National Championship. More people remember off the top of their head that Auburn won the NC last year. As far as any other bowl you would probably have to look it up. Hopefully after what happened this season they will make some changes to the whole BCS.

 

[Tenspro2002]

If by even, you mean overwhelmingly for football, you would be correct. Otherwise, just a stupid post.

Wow, that was called for. Thanks for your opinion, ***hole.

 

[jfuchs91]

I know im in the minority but i like basketball a lot more than football, this includes NFL. I agree that its a joke how college football works. I think there are a lot of inconsistencies. How do you have some conferences play a championship game and others dont? I also think its strange how schools like a Boise St know before they even play a game that there is probably a 99% chance they wont play for a NC no matter how good their season is. Isnt that what the goal is, winning a national championship?

Thats why i dont understand what the "BCS Bowls" mean. I know the tradition and history with the Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and Sugar but honestly what does that mean for the teams that win them. Like i said before i thought you play to win a National Championship. More people remember off the top of their head that Auburn won the NC last year. As far as any other bowl you would probably have to look it up. Hopefully after what happened this season they will make some changes to the whole BCS.

I love the NFL, but I agree 100% that college football's system is completely messed up. I just can't support a sport that has as many flaws as NCAA football does. I understand the "tradition", but everything else just seems so wrong.

 

[Palatine]

If you leave the bubble that is SEC country (a football powerhouse but a basketball wasteland), you'd probably find the interest about even.

You never lived in the midwest.

 

[mihusky]

You never lived in the midwest.

Indeed, it sure is a religion in Ann Arbor ...

 

[joober jones]

College bball is so much better than college football, it amazes me that college football is so popular.

I agree 100%. I love the NFL but never really got into the college game too much. Of course I pull for UConn when they play, but the college game just isn't all that captivating for me. Still beats the 3-down clusterduck version back home though.

 

[August_West]

I dont care for college football at all, guess it goes back to my childhood watching teams like Nebraska run the wishbone offense. That was as exciting as watching pAint dry. I was a huge pro football fan growing up (went to Shea every Sunday as a small kid for Namath era jets), but college football just was such a different, boring game compared to the pros. Hated option qb's as well. I want to see passing!

 

[jleves]

Wow, that was called for. Thanks for your opinion, ***hole.

It was kind of called for. Some places outside the SEC, like Michigan (109,933/game), Penn St (107,008), Ohio St (105,261) all outpace the SEC in per game attendance. Throw in places like Oklahomo, Texas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Purdue, Boise, Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, UCLA, USC, Hawaii, Virginia Tech, Miami, West Virginia, Florida St, Oklahoma St, Colorado where Football trumps basketball many times over and your original statement was kind of silly.

We all make stupid posts from time to time. Instead of being pissed about being called on it, own it and learn from it and say, 'wow, that was dumb. sorry.'

 

[Tenspro2002]

You make a fair point about football vs. basketball, but the ad hominem attacks really aren't necessary.

 

[Brad Palmer]

I love college football, but my original post was specifically pointing to the arguments against a playoff system in CFB. If they instituted a college football playoff, the weekly games would still be great.

 

[champs99and04]

I almost feel like college basketball would be more popular if there was a BCS system just like the one in college football. We wouldn't want that of course, but think of the interest big regular season games would draw compared to what they draw now.

It really would make the whole regular season feel like March Madness. While it would be more exciting November-February, it would also take away IMO, the best sporting event of the year.

I love college basketball mostly because I love basketball. But for the non basketball junkies out there, a BCS system would kind of be more captivating.

Still, I much prefer college basketball to college football. Not just because of the tournament, but because there is more parity.

 

[Lefty2one]

Many people say if college football were to institute a playoff, the regular-season would be meaningless.

I always laugh when I hear college football pundits say that the regular season is so meaningful and blah blah blah. The truth is the regular season is WAY more meaningless than most people realize.

Unless you start the season in the Top 10 play in the SEC where you can knock off enough highly rated foes then your entire regular season is meaningless. Hell, the Game of the Century between LSU and Bama turned out to be meaningless this year. In the Big 10, by late October, there wasn't a single meaningful game left to be played the entire season. A Big East team didn't play a meaningful game all year.

The BCS is obviously a joke, nothing needs to be said there.

Make it a 4-team playoff, don't release the first polls until Week 8 and keep the stupid BCS and college football will be so much better. The meaningfulness of the regular season won't be hurt.

 

[IMind]

That "diminish the regular season" argument just feeds the BS that helps perpetuate a flawed and corrupt system. There are so few games and so many teams that every game still would still be intensely important. In fact if you had a 4 or 8 team playoff it would make the last games of the season even MORE important to many MORE teams. All the current system does is allow the coaches/athletic departments of leagues with more teams to skew poll results so the same half dozen teams ALWAYS end up in the national championship game.

I'm actually shocked that RGIII won the Heisman Trophy this year... of course he had to demolish Texas to do it... so he still got there on the back of a blue blood. The only sport more corrupt at the top than college football might be boxing... and I only say MIGHT.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I almost feel like college basketball would be more popular if there was a BCS system just like the one in college football. We wouldn't want that of course, but think of the interest big regular season games would draw compared to what they draw now.

It really would make the whole regular season feel like March Madness. While it would be more exciting November-February, it would also take away IMO, the best sporting event of the year.

I love college basketball mostly because I love basketball. But for the non basketball junkies out there, a BCS system would kind of be more captivating.

Still, I much prefer college basketball to college football. Not just because of the tournament, but because there is more parity.

Don't take this personally, but if going to a BCS style system ever happens for college basketball, I'm going to slander your name to anyone who will listen.