Yeah... that's not gonna happen... lol.
We have a lot of polish in our program, but at the same time, there is so much soul. The games are so much fun, the band, the alumni, the students... we're all there because we love the school and it just happens to have an awesome program.
I'll go with your rankings... And yeah, the polls are messed up in that the big names always get the benefit of the doubt, even when they shouldn't. But, at the same time, there's not many years where more than a couple of teams finish undefeated. As long as those undefeated teams are in the running for the national championship, I'm ok with the end result.
And yeah, I'm not sure how the Rose Bowl works, exactly... I know that when we played there (2003) there was a huge uproar about how wrong it was that it wasn't a pac 10 school or something... And honestly, we really prefer the Orange Bowl but since the advent of the BCS we've only been there twice (both times playing for the national championship), so we think the whiny butts can just get over it...
I can root for Mizzou! Go Big 12!! Except Texas... Texas sucks.
I'm the exact opposite. I'm from the Northeast (defined as being north of Blacksburg and east of State College), where we see college football for what it really is: the minor leagues. Just like minor league baseball, it's probably more fun (and cheaper) to go to a game in-person than it is in the NFL/MLB, but the ultimate interest is in which players will eventually be called up/drafted into the real thing. Also the whole "what the hell are major educational institutions doing giving scholarships to dunderheads who happen to play a game well and pouring millions of dollars into running a sports league that only turns a profit for a few dozen programs" question has always bugged me.
Plus, my wife would not be particularly happy with me if I spent Sunday and Saturday watching football.
I think you probably see it as the minor leagues because the local programs aren't really worth supporting... But, I can see your point, sort of. It's not in any way cheaper to go to one of our games, believe me. Our stadium seats over 82,000 people and is full every week... (in the good years anyhow, and most of them are good years...).
What makes college football so much more interesting to me is its constantly shifting nature. Every year the team is radically different than the year before. So the game becomes more about the programs and how well they recruit and then train their new players. It's much more a test of coaching abilities and the soul of the players.
I think I don't care as much about professional football because it is just that... a business. I have a hard time being that excited about someone else's business, even if it is regional. But my ties to my school are incredibly strong. My family has attended this university for generations. My parents grew up watching OU football, as did I. It's my school, it's my employer, it's my town, it's my team.
And next year, it will be a different group of kids, but it'll be just as much mine.
BOOMER SOONER! :D
go SC!!! all the way
