College Football

Scott Horowitz | November 14, 2005
Does anyone else find College football more exciting than the NFL? It's just been great this season.

Erik Bates | November 14, 2005
[hidden by request]

Scott Horowitz | November 16, 2005
PSU still has an outside chance of Pasadena, and a good chance of taking the Big10 and getting a high BCS Bid.

Scott Hardie | November 19, 2005
Why is college football more exciting than pro ball? Is it just because the particular games this season have been better, or is it something intrinsic to college football? I ask as someone who doesn't follow either, but enjoys a good NFL game when he happens to see one. I would think the professional talent in the NFL would make for better games, but I can understand the passionate ties one would have to his alma mater's home team, etc etc...

Tomorrow I'm going to an Orlando Magic game (won courtside seats in a contest), so I'll have something to write about sports that isn't asking a completely obvious and abstract question. That is, if it doesn't take me another three weeks to write something at all. :-)

Scott Horowitz | November 21, 2005
GO PSU, 2005 Big Ten Champions!! w00t

Amy Austin | November 21, 2005
I've quietly wondered the same thing many times in passing, too, Scott... but I think it's kind of an interesting difference.

Aside from the obvious fact that college football has a lot of young guys in their physical prime -- who are the breeding grounds for the pros, don't forget! -- and the NFL does have well-seasoned and undeniably still-kickin' talent... Despite the consistency of playership, I frequently feel that it's just a different kind of game, played with a different kind of style. I hate to call it more "youthful" -- but that's the way I see it, for lack of a better word. It's like, even though the pros are awesomely experienced in what they do -- and you just live for those pro moments that will go down in sports history... the beauty and grace of which are always unsurpassed! -- they still seem to play a sort of more conservative game. It seems -- to me, anyway -- that you see more rushing and running of the ball and less of the more dramatic passing game... and along with this, it seems that the NFL has tougher games -- harder to score. Compare scores of the average college game with that of the NFL's games... I could swear that they're consistently higher point games that you just don't see that often in the NFL (unless one team is *really* sucking!) There's just something about the SCORE! (talkin' 'bout pass & TDs here) that just seems to me to offer a little more excitement than the mere (and I use the word lightly) defensive skills, the likes of which are usually demonstrated more heavily by the NFL. Again, I submit to you that this is just my opinion... one that is formed by the years of watching and learning football from the NFL games with my dad, followed by the years of college interest while keeping up with the Gators' games (as well as from someone who hasn't followed either very closely in a while, either!). And while I think it's definitely true that there's an added element of interest with your alma mater (and that the Gators were known for their passing games in the days of Spurrier), this is just the conclusion that I have come to about the college games vs. the NFL... it's kind of like the difference between being a success at the Fortune 500 CEO level vs. the buzz-worthy new entrepreneur on the scene in business -- hope someone else here finds that analogy valid and useful!

Scott Hardie | November 22, 2005
That's a pretty good way of putting it. I used to think that the strong appeal of high-school football was that, in some small towns, it's the only entertainment there is. But from your description I can imagine an additional level of risk-taking and unpredictability that even college ball wouldn't have. Interesting.

Now if someone can make sense of deaf culture to me, I'll be all set. :-)

Erik Bates | December 4, 2005
[hidden by request]

Scott Horowitz | December 6, 2005
w00t, PSU is going to the Orange Bowl, and I'll be there. GO STATE (penn not Florida)

Amy Austin | December 6, 2005
F(s)U, dude...

Even though I am a loyal Gator, and I thoroughly enjoyed our Thanksgiving trouncing -- almost a shutout, damn it! -- of the 'Noles this year... I still support my state's football teams above all others! (Except Miami ('Canes, that is)... I could give a shit about them, really -- they need all the humble pie they can get! ;-DDD Good on FSU for givin' 'em a spanking straight away this season and on NC -- my current "home state" -- for doing it first last year!!!)

The "Juice" belongs to Florida, natch!!! ;-DDDDD (No Simpson jokes, now...)

Scott Horowitz | December 6, 2005
The 'Noles don't deserve this game. They're 7-4,but they managed to win their conference. The biggest problem with the BCS is that Oregon is 10-1, but they're going to a shitty bowl. OSU is 9-2, but they're going to the Fiesta Bowl.

Amy Austin | December 6, 2005
Well, I can't argue about deservingness... these things quite often seem arbitrary to me, and there's usually a whole lot of shit-talk about "whose conference is tougher?" surrounding such discussions -- I don't follow enough teams or enough conferences to make/stake any such claims... however, I would tentatively agree with you that the 'Noles are not really among the most "deserving" of a bowl game this year.

By "shitty bowl", I assume you mean a non-BCS bowl? (Well, at least they get to go to the Sand Dog... I miss it there!) And Pac-Life Holiday is a contender for being added in as the 5th bowl to the BCS, too... granted, that doesn't affect this season, but still -- not exactly what I would call a "shitty bowl". Now, maybe Boise or Mobile... ;-)

(And that's the "Tostitos Fiesta Bowl" to you, too, chum... ;-DDD)

Scott Horowitz | December 7, 2005
There should be a complete playoff system. I do think that Texas and USC are the best 2 teams in the country, but after that the system falls flat.

Amy Austin | December 7, 2005
Fair enough. I am quite certain that you aren't alone in your wish, Scott... but I am really not certain as to how a complete playoff system would be implemented. Then again, it's not like I've spent any amount of brain power on it, either. Surely, *somebody* has, though...

Scott Horowitz | December 7, 2005
Well, I think each team should be forced into joining a conference. Each Conference has a champion, and maybe 1 or 2 wild cards. The teams with the best records, play the teams with the worse records, or wild cards. Similar to how pro sports do it. They can turn the current bowl games into the playoff games. Split the conferences into divisions, that way each division will have a champ, and the 2 champs meet in a final game.

Amy Austin | December 7, 2005
I guess that would be a fair way to do it. Penn would probably still be playing FSU at the Orange, though. ;-)

Jackie Mason | December 8, 2005
[hidden by request]

Michael Paul Cote | December 8, 2005
I think that they (the powers that be) should take the worst two teams in the country and send them to the Wal-Mart/Blockbuster Toilet Bowl.

Scott Horowitz | December 8, 2005
Hey Amy, it's Penn State... not Penn, get it right :-p

Amy Austin | December 9, 2005
Heheh... sure, sure, Scott. I know the importance of the distinction -- sorry! ;-)

Scott Horowitz | January 4, 2006
GO PENN STATE 2006 ORANGE BOWL CHAMPIONS I JUST GOT BACK FROM THERE (STILL IN FL) IT WAS FUCKING AWESOME

Jackie Mason | January 5, 2006
[hidden by request]

Scott Horowitz | January 5, 2006
It was great Jackie, I'm honored that you thought of me. I have no fucking voice whatsoever. I've never gotten so much into a game, and I've been to 5 Yankees/Red Sox games. Weird. It was a complete PSU overrun (in terms of fans). It was like 70% PSU fans at the stadium. Though, FSU's chop is so fucking annoying, you can't get it out of your head. I felt like I was at a braves game. I was 14 rows back from the end zone. I got to the game at 1:50PM, left at 1:50AM. It was one of the top 5 most amazing experiences of my life. I have tons of pics, I'll have up. One of my friends was at the game with a press pass, and he got some amazing shots of the team.