How College Football is so much like European soccer

I think a lot about soccer, and I think a lot about college football. But for whatever reason, those thoughts never really crossed. I guess since college football is played by (cough) amateurs and soccer is played by pros, I always drew the parallels between soccer and the pro sports in the US.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the concept of relegation and promotion fascinates me, and I think it's absolutely something we need in American sports. But due to league setup, the, um, finicky, nature of pro sports fans, and history, there's no way it'd happen in American pro sports. An NFL team *might* be able to survive with its fan base if relegated, but it'd never work, and it's completely impractical.

One of the things that's remarkable about European soccer (again, I'll use England as my example) is the fierce loyalty of the local supporters. They're with their team, lots of times, "'til I die." They'll stay with them if they're relegated, there's no better feeling than if they're winning, they sing, it's an instant connection with like fans, and the rivalries are intense.

That's when it hit me -- the only connection, on the whole, that compares in the USA is with our college teams, regardless of the sport. Even if my team sucks, they're still my alma mater, I'll be a fan for life, and I'll always care -- even if they're not playing for national championships. And it's not just certain schools like it would be for certain pro teams, every school has a large, committed fan base. And it's a passion unmatched in any other sport.

Also, the teams acquire players in similar ways -- recruiting. There's no draft, just a process of wooing and promising things that other teams can't. Granted, in soccer money is (legally) involved and in college football, it isn't. *wink* Regardless, this is why promotion and relegation could work in college football, but not in professional sports in the USA.

And this is why, if anywhere, promotion and relegation could work in college football. Imagine the joy of a fan of, say, Idaho, was good enough to join the PAC-10; or Ball State joining the Big 10. Or the disappointment of, oh, Oklahoma, being demoted to the Mountain West. But even if that happened, they're still Sooner fans, and they'll stick with their team. (relax, Sooners -- this was just an example to make a point. Nobody's putting you in the Mountain West (yet!))

But it could work. It'd suck for the bad teams, but then the little guys have a chance. And the payoff of a playoff (I'll get to that later) makes up for it.