I’m a lifelong college and NFL football fan. Despite attending a college that doesn’t have a football team, I’ve managed to keep my passion for college football. I have season tickets to Jacksonville Jaguars football games and used to be a huge fan of Florida State football. I have no animosity towards FSU; I just lost interest as I moved on to a different college at the University of North Florida.

At the moment, I’m not a fan of any college team in particular but do enjoy watching ACC football (one aspect of my former status as an FSU fan that won’t wear off). I know what losing is like as a fan of the Jags, and on the flip side, I know what winning is like as a former fan of the ‘Noles. If I had to lean towards college or NFL football, one would think that I’d favor the pros, due to my upbringing in Jacksonville, FL as a Jaguars fan, however, I can’t help but argue that college football is superior to NFL football.

1. Fight Songs

Many of college football’s most famous fight songs are regarded as hymns by their team’s fan bases rather than just an ordinary song. Many of the most famous fight songs like “Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech”, Michigan’s “The Victors”, and Navy’s “Anchor’s Aweigh” are put on a continuous loop throughout the most devout fans’ head during college football season. In contrast to the NFL, whose teams don’t have fight songs, college football teams have fight songs that are more than just the embodiment of game day; they encompass the tradition of college football that has been passed from generation to generation.

2. College Stadiums

Instead of being surrounded by acres of asphalt parking lots like NFL stadiums are, college football stadiums are surrounded by the scholarly confines of college campuses. College stadiums have so much more character than the often-renovated NFL stadiums. Take, for example, Bobby Dodd Stadium at Georgia Tech. It’s surrounded on all sides by dormitories or lecture halls in the traditional GT brick architecture type--See below for an example.

3. Team Entrances

The elaborate team entrances in college football are designed to pump up the fans and players alike. College team entrances come in stark contrast to the monotonous running out of a tunnel entrance that NFL teams repeat over and over again with no reprieve. Clemson’s Memorial Stadium, nicknamed “Death Valley”, is built on a hill. Clemson’s locker rooms are hidden within their stadium at the bottom of the hill. That being said, the team makes their entrance by taking a bus around the stadium from the bottom of the hill to the top, and run down the hill onto the field, not before patting Howard’s Rock for good luck. Where can that type of tradition be found in the NFL?

4. Marching Bands

On many college campuses, marching bands are as big a deal, if not bigger, than the football team. At Florida A&M, the marching band is known around the country for its magnificent play and flamboyant shows that it puts on during halftime, which has lead to its popularity and importance to the college football game. In many cases, it is the marching band’s responsibility to pump up the fans after a big play, or to encourage the team during a spell of poor play. The anticipation behind the upcoming football game wouldn’t reach normal levels if it weren’t for the marching band to play traditional fight songs in addition to songs from popular culture. The NFL can’t compare with the spirit that college marching bands bring to campuses nationwide, because the NFL simply doesn’t have marching bands for its teams.

5. Rivalries

Of course there are rivalries in the NFL, but the number is limited because there are only 32 teams. Hundreds of teams compete in the college ranks, from the smallest schools in the least known divisions to the traditional powerhouses in the FBS, which creates storied conflicts all throughout college football. The fiercest rivalries on the national stage can be debated for days on end but many come to the consensus that Michigan v. Ohio State, Oklahoma v. Texas, Notre Dame v. Southern California, Florida v. Florida State, and Alabama v. Auburn are the most prominent at the moment.

Despite the dominance of the “big boys” in rivalries, smaller, more academically minded schools can have rivalries too. Just ask Harvard and Yale how they feel about each other, or Amherst and Williams. The NFL just can’t replicate the feeling that permeates throughout college students, athletes and fans when it comes to rivalries.

6. Rushing the Field

I think that Alabama v. Auburn in 2013 sums up the emotions and importance of rushing the field in college football. Rushing the field is “not allowed” in college football but happens in rivalry games or when a big game comes down to the last second. The NFL strictly prohibits rushing the field and it’s nearly impossible with the legions of security staff around the perimeter of NFL fields.

Enough said.