I got into an argument with my dad on a drive to a Brewers game about 6 years ago. It was a classic old school versus new school sports fan argument. In hindsight I was wrong. *Very big of me to admit.
I thought NIL was a good idea. It made sense in my head. I bought a #25 Wisconsin Football jersey. At that time, there was no secret who that was. Shouldn’t Melvin Gordon get some money from that?
At the start of NIL, it kind of worked. I still remember seeing the first athlete in my world get an NIL deal in 2019. Jonathan Taylor was a sponsor for Toppers Pizza in Madison. Pretty harmless (except for the fact that Toppers was maybe the worst pizza in Madison). 7 years later, NIL has completely changed college sports. Every week it feels like there is more outrage about a new story with NIL or the transfer portal. Currently it’s that NFL players are coming back to play a 5th year of eligibility. So why do I still love college sports despite everything going on?
Last year, I watched the disaster that was the 2025 Badgers team beat a ranked Washington team in the rain/snow and it is arguably in my top 5 favorite games I have ever been to. Not because it was a good game, but because it was a hilarious game. It was the smallest attendance I think I have ever seen at Camp Randall and we all had this shared experience of watching the team we all love (but currently hate) win and finish the game with the punter being the top passer on the team. Every week games like that happen.
That’s why I still love college sports. I love the wackiness. I love hope. I love the shared experience of agony and happiness even though it’s almost always agony. The biggest reason I still love college sports, though, is the traditions.
I had a debate with a friend recently about the best tradition in college football. There are so many it’s impossible to find a right answer. But that is why college sports are so great. Damn near every team has some tradition they do every Saturday!
Has college sports changed? Yes. But the wackiness never ends. The hope will always be there every August. And the traditions will always be traditions.
Cowbells still clang in Starkville. Ralphie still runs on the field in Boulder. Sandstorm still shakes Columbia. Hands still wave in Iowa City. Enter Sandman still leads Virginia Tech onto the field in Blacksburg. Most importantly (to me), House of Pain still blares out of the speakers in between the 3rd and 4th quarter in Madison.
Happy Week 0!
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