re: Down year for College Football

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It's always a down year for me.. now I just genuinely care less and less about all of the 'top' games too throughout the year. When I was a kid and even in my younger 20s I would even watch the MAC on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

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I'm far less engaged in college football than I was when I was a student/post 3-4 years out. There is also nothing wrong with that.

When you're on campus, it's a part of your every day life. You wake up on gameday, and football disney world comes to you. Even when you get out, you likely go to as many games as possible - and with having friends still in school, you likely have places to stay.

When you get past 28, it kind of loses the luster. As an Alabama fan, you play maybe two home games each year that are actually competitive and worth getting excited about. Getting to games becomes more of a hassle than it's worth. If you want to make a weekend out of your drive (SEC average travel for games is roughly 2 1/2 hours), you likely need a hotel. No offense to anyone here, but most of these college towns have limited options, and the good ones will run you 300+ a night.

Even so, I used to go just to see old friends. Now that they've got kids, they've slowly faded to the shadows.

I've found a lot of joy in watching from home, and making the pilgramige once a year.

While NFL ticket prices are by no means cheaper than college, the "all-in price" absolutely is when you factor in gas and lodging. I can leave my house at 10:00AM and have my tent up at MBS at 10:30 for a 1PM game, and be home by the end of Q2 of the 4:15PM games. The stadiums are nicer and the games are far more competitive.

SEC and college football, in general, need to get a grip and go to an all P5 schedule. Back when it was "go or don't see it" for the cupcake non-conference games, there was a small reason to make the drive for those events. With the expansion of TV now, I wouldn't go to those games with free tickets.