I like Pro football but...

The Prep and College Game Is For Me

I like pro football, I really do, but…but what? It’s football and I love football, so why don’t I have the same passion for the NFL that many others do or that I had many years ago? I’ve wondered about that from time to time and when I give what I think are my reasons you will probably say, “Your just old and old fashioned”. And that will be ok because I am both. As the title says, the prep and college game is for me.

I suppose one of the reasons is that I don’t have a favorite pro team. When I was a youngster I loved Johnny Unitas and the Colts. When Unitas retired, along with his great teammates Raymond Berry and Lenny Moore, I lost interest in the Colts. I tried to be a fan of a particular team but couldn’t develop an allegiance to one. I ended up kind of pulling for the Chicago Bears simply because I live relatively near to Chicago.

Another reason is that I enjoy watching different offenses and defenses go at it. I love watching a wishbone formation , wing-T, I, spread, double wing etc. I enjoy watching a running team against a passing team. It’s interesting watching different defenses like the 5-2, 4-4, 4-3, 3-5-3, etc. You get that in high school ball and college ball to some extent. Division I is starting to look the same but there is enough diversity that I find it interesting. Several years ago I was at a D-III game (which is very good football by the way) involving Wheaton College, Illinois against Augustana College, Illinois. Wheaton ran shot gun with double twins and threw the heck out of the ball. Augustana was running the wing-T and ran the ball very well. It was a great, well played game with two completely different styles. I thoroughly enjoyed that game.

Finally, and this is where I guess I’m old fashioned. I love watching FOOTBALL. Dancing? I hate it. It has come to be the NFL trade mark. I am a purist. Just give me pure football. I find the most irritating comment by the media to be, “They don’t want these guys to have fun.” Are you kidding me? Playing football IS fun. I played in some form until I was 25 years old. Never did a dance and had great fun playing the game of football. I also find the pro game rather bland. Everything looks the same to me. I see the same defenses and the same offenses no matter which game I watch. Everyone does the same thing.

So, there you have it. After careful self analysis, I believe I have summed up why I am passionate about high school and college football but merely like pro football. My wife likes Dancing With the Stars. I told her watch the NFL, she’ll love it.