How come college football is not as big in the Northeast/New England as the rest of the country??? (transfer, camp)

[Spade]

Originally Posted by jbear182

Cheating?

what?

[Spade]

Originally Posted by beenhereandthere

It could be since there a wider variety of sports for athletes from the Northeast to choose from, particulary hockey and lacrosse.....
where in the South and Midwest and even most of the West, most kids only choose from Football, Baseball and Basketball.....

and track and field and soccer (specifically Texas).

[TheTruth08]

Originally Posted by JHG722

Penn State, Pitt, Temple, UConn, SUNY-Binghamton, SUNY-Buffalo, Baruch College, Vermont, UMass, Rutgers, TCNJ.

Also, Cornell is partially public.
And of course, the Merchant Marine Academy and West Point.

I dont know how that's 'very weak', but it's not academically oriented in the same way that higher education is in places like the south.

I would add SUNY Albany, since NY is thinking of expanding our football stadium to being the premier one in NY (public wise), since some of our other sports teams are getting better.

I wish the NE was better at football though, tailgating at games and etc seems to be a lot fun and a missing part of the NE college experience. But the NE is very baseball orientated. When the Yankees won the world series my campus seemed to explode, when we won a college football game I don't think anyone noticed. But I personally can't get into a sports game unless I'm watching in person.

[eek]

Originally Posted by michigan83

I think college football is a little bit more of an "acquired taste." I absolutely love it, far and above pro football, and I live in the midwest.

Pro football is more commercial... marketing, media exposure, fanstasy football, and gambling all play a big part in the popularity of pro football. It's easier to understand. The champion is determined through a straightforward playoff and the Super Bowl, the most hyped event on Earth.

College football is a different animal. It's about history, tradition, rivalries, conference prestige, "haves" vs "have nots", and dynasties. The Rose Bowl. Recruiting. The variety of different stadiums, atmospheres and styles of play. Offenses that range from the spread to the wishbone. The goofy way that they determine a "champ."

It's really not as easy to understand or appreciate for the casual fan. That's why pro football will always be more popular.

But for those of us who "get it"... pro football doesn't hold a candle to college football and never will. And, unfortunately for those who are in the Northeast, the best college football is not played there.

i agree with this plus we have professional teams in the north...

so we follow them.
baseball is also big here.

[banevader]

More colleges...and smaller ones than down South and in the Midwest.
Also,no tradition of winning teams.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by eek

i agree with this plus we have professional teams in the north...

so we follow them.
baseball is also big here.

There are professional teams in the South too but yes, football is bigger than any sport down there. The atmosphere and the passion for the game is far greater from all levels in the South compared to the North.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by banevader

More colleges...and smaller ones than down South and in the Midwest.
Also,no tradition of winning teams.

Not necessarily true historically as Penn State and Syracuse are in the top 20 for all time wins. I think Pitt is up there and Boston College has had a good program for a while. Army used to be a good football school a while back, of course. Here's information on the Syracuse football program: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse_Orange_football

[kidphilly]

I do not think that there is not a strong following but none of the major teams except for Pitt are close to major cities, especially the Eastern Seaboard

other exception is Univ of MD, Temple really has never had a strong foortball following, BC is ok, Rutgers is getting better. But in all honesty PSU has the largest alligiance in the NE. Philly and Pittsburgh have obviously large followings but also DC and NYC have pretty large fan bases. I believe PSU was recently ranked a top 5 college football brand largely driven by the NE support. Syracue would be next to lessor extent. But these schools are 3 and 4 hours from the major cities, though it doesnt hurt attendance. Penn State has the largest stadium in college football and is ALWAYS sold out and considered one of the best environments in the country. People plan the games years in advance.

Also as someone else noted, Pro football is the larger draw. There are 7 NFL teams among the NE cities.


As a side note, WVU actually has a pretty decent NE following as well

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

I do not think that there is not a strong following but none of the major teams except for Pitt are close to major cities, especially the Eastern Seaboard

other exception is Univ of MD, Temple really has never had a strong foortball following, BC is ok, Rutgers is getting better. But in all honesty PSU has the largest alligiance in the NE. Philly and Pittsburgh have obviously large followings but also DC and NYC have pretty large fan bases. I believe PSU was recently ranked a top 5 college football brand largely driven by the NE support. Syracue would be next to lessor extent. But these schools are 3 and 4 hours from the major cities, though it doesnt hurt attendance. Penn State has the largest stadium in college football and is ALWAYS sold out and considered one of the best environments in the country. People plan the games years in advance.

Also as someone else noted, Pro football is the larger draw. There are 7 NFL teams among the NE cities.


As a side note, WVU actually has a pretty decent NE following as well

Forgot about WVU, which is only an hour south of Pittsburgh. So, the rivalry with Pitt is pretty big.

[calisnuffy]

Originally Posted by Spade

When you have a myriad of options, who wants to watch amateur football?