Why College Football is Popular (Essay Sample)

Why College Football is Popular
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Why College Football is Popular
Americans’ cultic following of American football can only be rivaled by the love Britons show for soccer games. College football has a similar following that is best described as religious (Oniard, 2008). Fans extremely adore their local college football teams, rallying behind them through hell and back. The reasons behind such devout regard for their teams that often contain strangers is explained by the attention they receive in media coverage, tradition, lack of attachment to franchise teams in the National Football League (NFL), and huge crowds present in college games.
College football is among the few sports that enjoy national coverage when games are played. A study by Oniard (2008) reveals that such coverage by big networks points to the popularity of the sport since such networks, motivated by profit, air programs that have high returns. The large turnouts witnessed at games coupled with the vast coverage are a reflection of an immense following of the sport.
Colleges enroll thousands of students each year which widens the fan base for local sports after graduation (Watterson, 2008). Moreover, many colleges with sports programs have cultures that span several decades. With such large numbers, there is no shortage of fans to support college teams’ games being aired nationwide. Due to the need for an identity, alumni rally behind schools they contributed to in building a culture.
Riesman and Denney (2005) note that except for such cities like New York that lack strong college teams, other states with colleges boasting competitive teams opt to rally behind the local teams who they can identify with easily. The local fans do not have to worry about private security pushing them away from their fans. The fans also can readily identify with the college kids who are often considered heroes who play for glory and not money (Oniard, 2008).
Tradition, identity, a massive fan base, and unrivaled media coverage ...