AUSTIN, Texas — When I arrived at the University of Texas’ football stadium, I was struck by three things. It’s a huge stadium with a capacity of 100,119. The game with Louisiana State University wouldn’t start for nearly an hour, but the stadium was almost full. And so was the suite from which I would be watching the game, thanks to my friend Alan Sager, a businessman who also teaches at UT.
I shouldn’t have been surprised by any of this. College football is probably the most popular sport in the country, and UT and LSU were both top 10 teams. In three-fourths of America (but not in the Northeast), college football generates more genuine enthusiasm than President Trump, movie stars, or mere TV news anchors could ever dream of.
Why is this? The answer is obvious. College football is America’s most exciting sport, and it’s a rare commodity. Teams play only a dozen games, not counting bowl games. This compares to the 30 or more college basketball games each season, 162 Major League Baseball games, and 82 regular-season games for men’s professional basketball.
People cannot get enough of college football. In the South, it’s the dominant subject of conversation year-round by both men and women. Politics? Forget it. That’s far less interesting. The weather? Also much less appealing, except in states that experience an annual hurricane season.
College football stadiums, big as they are, are not big enough. The UT stadium, officially named the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, ranks only eighth in the seating capacity of college stadiums. So, naturally, it’s going to be enlarged to accommodate 110,000 screaming fans, making it number one, the biggest in all of college sports.
There’s a social class aspect of college football. Middle class and above — that’s where college students come from. And it makes sense that colleges excel in producing college football fans. Working-class types are more drawn to professional football, though there’s some overlap.
If you go to both college and pro football games, you can tell the difference in the fans immediately. Drinking at pro games has something to do with this. So does how fans are dressed.
The rituals are different, too. College fans love to tailgate — that is, eating, drinking, and socializing in the parking lot for hours before the game starts. The game is sometimes of secondary importance. I was asked recently if I’d be using my parking place at the University of Virginia games. If not, could they have my parking permit for a specific game? Not the tickets to the game. Nope, they didn’t need those.
What about the actual football? College players are bigger, faster, and more talented than ever. Football coaches are the most highly paid faculty members at the schools in the top five conferences (Atlantic Coast, Southeast, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12). Some of them leave coaching jobs in the pro ranks to coach college teams. Nick Saban of the University of Alabama, the most successful college coach, did just that.
With better players and great coaches, the quality of football at the college level was bound to get better. And indeed it has. It’s often dazzling now. Both UT and LSU are examples of that. They’re wonderful to watch, particularly in person.
LSU was a slight favorite. Its quarterback, Joe Burrow, is a transfer from Ohio State. He could play anywhere. He’s ready for the pros. He threw for 471 yards against Texas. He distributed the ball to three receivers, and each had more than 100 yards in receptions.
Texas is working its way back as a football powerhouse after a few lean years. It trailed LSU in the second half and had a chance to pull ahead. But the UT defense couldn’t stop Burrow, and his wide receivers and LSU scored 22 points in the fourth quarter and won, 45-38. It’s hard to beat a team with a late-scoring offense.
What should we think about college football? First and foremost, it’s a great American institution. It lifts many young men from poor backgrounds to great athletic heights, fame, and success in life. It tightens a lifetime bond between students and their school, and it thrills entire communities and states.
Yes, there are recruiting scandals. Football players suffer serious injuries. The games are too long, given the endless timeouts to allow for commercials on televised matches. Fans can be unreliable in their support if their team loses too often and losing seasons are hard to swallow.
But all in all, I’d rather see a college football game on Saturday than do anything else, and then talk about it all next week.
