How to become a fan of college football.
 

I have been a casual fan of college football for most of my adult life. I enjoy watching the games when I can, and find them to be a lot of fun to watch, but I don't know much about the programs, or the players. I understand what I am seeing on the field, but little much else.

I can keep track of NFL teams because there are not too many of them, and for the most part, any turnover on a team comes from the draft, or known players switching teams.

What I wanna know is how do you hardcore fans stay on top of everything? There are over 100 teams, which change over ~25% of their rosters every year, and their replacements are pretty much unknowns. How can I make the jump from casual fan to knowledgeable one?

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

You don't have to know every player on every team. I personally watch every game that my alma mater plays and know the stars/notable players on the top teams in the nation and in the conference.

I would say most college football fans follow the general outline of:

1. Know all there is to know about your team.
2. Know as much about the teams in the national title hunt and in your conference as you want to.

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

You a gamer? Get the NCAA games and buy the name rosters. That's honestly a pretty good start.

Also, maybe reconsider the goal? I'm as big a KU football fan as there is, but I don't watch SportsCenter and I don't see too many other games due to being at KU games virtually every Saturday. Aside from Big 12 teams, and the few other teams I catch, I can't name much of anyone from anywhere.

I still find college football enjoyable without knowing who every guy is or knowing about every team. I guess I'd say pick some favorite teams or a conference and don't worry so much about what happens outside of that.

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

follow it more? i don't know, read about what happens every weekend on websites. sit on your couch all day watch every game on saturdays.

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

Watch a game like Boise St./OU last year, or LSU/Ark today, or hopefully MU/KU. If the Boise St./OU game doesn't get you hooked, you will never be a fan. (Fox replays it periodically.)

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

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Watch a game like Boise St./OU last year, or LSU/Ark today, or hopefully MU/KU. If the Boise St./OU game doesn't get you hooked, you will never be a fan. (Fox replays it periodically.)

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I am already a fan. I have been a fan of the Wolverines since I was in HS and they invited me to a camp. I just want to know how I can become a more informed fan.

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

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which change over ~25% of their rosters every year,

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really...who cares?
Are you telling me that you are better able to be a fan of the NFL because you know every single O-lineman and linebacker? That seems silly.
Very very few people know of all the players at the NFL level but many many people are fans.
Same goes for college football.
Almost every person who calls themselves a 'fan' of college football only knows the names of a very small percentage of the players.

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

be in the band ldo

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

most people know their own teams, their rival teams and the top 25 teams (or less) and can't even name players... i'm a big CFB fan but i can't name one alabama player outside wilson. maybe a few guys on tennessee etc... and doubt i could name 20 guys in total on the bottom 60 NCAA teams. i really just love the energy of the game and the fans.

devour all the magazines at the start of the year. the big ones are obvious. but also phil steele's magazine is amazing... collegefootballnews.com is great too.....

i absolutely love NCAAF even though i'm up here in canada with no espn and no alumni or local team. In toronto, i somewhat adopted rutgers (when they were terrible) and now trying to do same with UBuffalo.

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

GoldenRhino,
One big problem is that in Canada it requires a ton of effort to keep track of recruiting and we get a pretty limited amount of games. I would suggest following one conference I guess Big Televen and than following the big national stories. If you didn't already follow Michigan, I would suggest follwing the SEC since it is better football and we get a similar amount of games.

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

Pudge and smbruin,

Thanks for the insight on how to keep on top of the news from the great white north.

Pudge,

Even though I can't name 5 players on Michigan, I am pretty attached to them. I get just as nervous watching one of their game as I do a Leafs or Packers game.

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

[ QUOTE ]
GoldenRhino,
One big problem is that in Canada it requires a ton of effort to keep track of recruiting and we get a pretty limited amount of games. I would suggest following one conference I guess Big Televen and than following the big national stories. If you didn't already follow Michigan, I would suggest follwing the SEC since it is better football and we get a similar amount of games.

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was the rhino in canada? i think that was only me (reread his post and didn't see it)... EDIT: o.k., it looks like he is in canada. wonder if it was in his OP

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
GoldenRhino,
One big problem is that in Canada it requires a ton of effort to keep track of recruiting and we get a pretty limited amount of games. I would suggest following one conference I guess Big Televen and than following the big national stories. If you didn't already follow Michigan, I would suggest follwing the SEC since it is better football and we get a similar amount of games.

[/ QUOTE ]

was the rhino in canada? i think that was only me (reread his post and didn't see it)

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't mention it in the OP (probably shoulda). Pudge knows my location from other posts.

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

more NFL draft-oriented than NCAAF, but check out GBNreport.com. nice free site run out of ottawa (not the best site, but impressive that they run it from canada)

hey, go bombers on sunday!!!!

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

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more NFL draft-oriented than NCAAF, but check out GBNreport.com. nice free site run out of ottawa (not the best site, but impressive that they run it from canada)

hey, go bombers on sunday!!!!

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Boo on the Bombers. They knocked out the Argos, plus the Riders are everyone's second favourite team. thanks for the link [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

i mentioned the gbnreport mock site but there are tons of mock drafts and lists of the top college players by position elsewhere on the internet ... that's how i knew kansas had a huge stud CB (name escapes me but it's late)... anyhow, i find that very enjoyable reading that stuff (not reading it too closely or anything... it's not like i'm really scouting these guys)

huge, huge missouri-kansas game tomorrow. probably the biggest game i can remember between traditionally mediocre or worse programs. atmosphere will be electric (like louisville at rutgers last year)

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

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which change over ~25% of their rosters every year,

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really...who cares?
Are you telling me that you are better able to be a fan of the NFL because you know every single O-lineman and linebacker? That seems silly.


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yes. that and the fact that they don't really play in the same leagues, there's no trades or player movement, etc. i'm just as interested in the market aspects of sports as i am in the games themselves, and in college football those things are all behind closed doors.

then again, i've never had a rooting interest in college football so maybe that's why I'm not a real fan of it.

Re: How to become a fan of college football.
 

There are 118 D-IA schools but of those there are only about ~60 BCS conference teams and to be honest those are the only ones the really matter.

Of those 60 probably 30-40 are actually worth a damn, so now you are talking roughly the same number of teams as in the NFL.

You basically follow your team(s) primarily, followed by the conference(s) of your team, followed by the teams in the top 10 or so and in the national title hunt.

I could write a novel about why college football is vastly superior to the NFL but I will summarize with a few bullet points.

1. Every game matters ALOT

In NFL you can lose games in the regular season and it's really no big deal. Hell you can finish freaking 8-8 or 9-7 and make the playoffs. Every game in college football is monumental. A single loss and you are usually out of the national title race. Two and you are done. Conference races often come down to tie breakers so losing a single game in conference is usually the difference.

2. The game has far more emotion

This is probable related to number #1 somewhat but the games are filled with way more emtion. You can feel the engery of the crowd and see the intensity on the players and coaches faces. People have real connections to the schools (students, alumni, friends/family alumni, regional pride, etc.) College football rivalries blow pro rivalries to hell.

3. College football is a coaches game

Of pretty much every major sport coaching matters the most in football and it matters the most in college football. By time players reach the NFL they have usually been coached up pretty well already in college and also develop big egos now they are playing for big money and only so much can be done to coach them. In college players are often raw talent with little to no coaching and thus the coaches molding and use of them is far more important. I find college football far more stategic in nature than the NFL. There is just so much talent on the field the players are what matters way more than the coaching/strategy.