If you did not already know, Big Green baseball is making itsIvy title appearance since us '08s graduated from high school. In the spirit of such an occurrence, Hodes and I decided to debate which is worth more: a title for one's favorite college or professional team?
The question is an intriguing one, especially for those who like me find fandom in both college and professional sports to be rewarding endeavors -- albeit for different reasons. These differing reasons, of course, are what make cheering a college team towards a title just a bit preferable to rooting one's favorite professional team towards glory.
I'll start things off by acknowledging a concession to Hodes's line of argument. Growing up as a sports fan in America, rooting for professional teams is something that is a bit more ingrained in us than supporting college teams. But the gap is closing, and fast. In fact, as far as some of the major NCAA titles go -- namely football and basketball -- there is virtually no gap. The "stage" of the BCS National Championship or the culmination of March Madness are both on comparable footing to the Super Bowl or NBA Title. On the whole, though, a lot more people are interested in professional sports than college sports, and as a result of this larger network, maintaining the status of "die-hard" is made a good deal easier.
The foremost line of defense that bolsters my argument is the "spirit" one. On the surface, such a contention might seem cheesy, but in the end, for us collegiate diehards, it's what it comes down to. The "spirit" argument is centered on a couple of points. First and foremost, in rooting for a collegiate team, fans are cheering for uncompensated, hard-working athletes -- and make no mistake about it, even as far as our argument goes, there is something to be said for the amount of time competitive college athletes put in. Ostensibly, we are all aware of the sacrifice they make.
But in reality, until we've experienced it directly, an appreciation for their dedication cannot be gained. I did, for a year and change, and it makes rooting on all college teams -- and, given present circumstances, especially Dartmouth baseball -- all the more worthwhile. There are, needless to say, plenty of those who love their game and are not primarily motivated by money in the professional ranks, but in the end there's just no denying the purity of collegiate sports, especially when this purity is contrasted, and starkly so at that, with the increasingly corporate world of professional sports.
When one also considers the fact that most NCAA athletes -- even those at prestigious football programs -- have no chance of a lucrative professional career, the fan preference for collegiate glory over professional success is further justified. I'm usually not one to take a liking to tacky advertising, but the line of ads the NCAA launched years ago with the tagline "There are 360,000 NCAA student athletes, and most ... something other than sports" sends an important message, making light of the fact that sacrifices must be made to play collegiate athletics, and at the end of a career, it's time for the real world and in most cases a far less lucrative career than the chosen few who are fortunate enough to take their talents to the next level.
In the end, root harder for who you please, but collegiate sports present a fan with different reasons to cheer on their teams -- ones which are better than their professional counterparts in my opinion. In the end, all you need to do is ask yourself: Which set of athletes' accomplishments can you appreciate more in light of their circumstances? I hope by now I've answered that question for you.
