6 Things to Know About College Football for International Students
If there is one thing you need to see during your study abroad in the US, it is College Football because there is nothing like it. Whether you like sports or not, you should go at least once because it encapsulates everything about the college experience in the US.
College football has been around for a while
Some universities have had their college football program for over a century and a half. The first college football game that was ever played was between Rutgers University and Princeton University. The two teams met in 1869. However, it was not until 1876 that the first college football rules were written. For some places in the US, college football was one of the only available forms of entertainment until the mass media. This explains why Americans love college football so much.
2. Games are really long
While a football game has four quarters and technically only lasts 60 minutes, there are so many breaks during the game. This means that a quarter that is 15 minutes on the timer can last 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the plays. While it can be annoying at first to go to games that last 3 hours, it becomes nice because you spend it with friends and get to see pretty cool plays.
3. Game days are more than just the game
If there is one sacred thing, it is game day. While the game is the main event, people love to tailgate, which is when people reunite on a parking lot hours before the game to meet with friends, go to frat tents and dance, and eat. Overall, there is just a lot going on, no matter the weather. Expect to go to the tailgate a few hours before the game even starts.
4. Some people are tailgate-experts
Some people bring their trucks or even their camping cars, and they have a barbecue outside. You can see some people with a whole set of outdoor furniture branded with the university colors. Some even have a TV outside to catch up on the other football games and game day shows.
5. You will get such a strong sense of community
Game days are probably when you will feel the strongest sense of community, as everyone is just so happy to be there, proudly wearing the university’s colors. No matter where you are from and how long you’ve been there, at this instance, you are connected to everyone else in the stadium. There is nothing like the feeling when your college football team scores a touchdown and the whole stadium erupts in cheers.
6. College football dictated the different sports divisions of the different universities
Once football games became more popular, universities needed a way to get organized and set the rules. That is why some conferences were born. Schools reunited together to create a set of rules and abide by them, which also helped them create a playing schedule. Now, one of the main regulatory bodies of college athletics is the National Collegiate Athletic Association or NCAA, and it is divided into three divisions based on different criteria, including football.
College football is a crazy experience, and is not everyone’s cup of tea, but you should go at least once during your study abroad in the US if you are there in the fall, as it is a sport that is exclusively played then.
