[RedRover]

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I guess its hard to explain to someone from outside the US, alot of it comes from atmosphere and tradition.

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Unlike Europe, America is spread way out. If you look at big cities, pro teams are popular (NY, LA, Boston, etc). College is more popular in the rural areas (the south, midwest especially). Europeans don't have these large rural areas so you don't have college sports. Think about it like rooting for the 2nd division team nearest you, because in the US, college basketball and football is basically second division.

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Part of the reason that college baseball isnt as big could be attributed to the fact that America's love for baseball started with the pro game, where in football and basketball the tradition of the sport is rooted much deeper in the college level.

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Yeah, baseball has always been pro, basketball and football started out as college games.

Another huge reason is that the transition from college to top tier in baseball takes much longer. In football and basketball, a player is a college star one year and a pro star the next (or maybe the second year for a tough position like quarterback). In baseball, it's pretty standard to take 3+ years, so you don't get the constant hype about someone.