Here in the south, college football is a religion.
For the most part, fans will pack out stadiums of 60,000 plus whether their team is good, great, or downright awful.
When athletes come from big time colleges, and then step into to the NFL spotlight, it’s definitely a massive leap in terms of skill, speed, and competition. But it could be a downgrade when it comes to the atmosphere.
Especially if you’re coming from colleges like Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia (basically any other SEC school).
It’s just different. It’s hard to explain.
One athlete in particular recognizes these differences… And that’s 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow.
Burrow, now QB1 of the Cincinnati Bengals, spoke with NBC Sports Peter King after the Bengals’ 41-17 ass whooping of the Baltimore Ravens.
When he was asked if the crowd noise in Baltimore (one of the louder stadiums in the NFL) fazed him, he responded with this:
“We knew that they were gonna be jacked up for us to come in, and expecting to beat our ass. But we were ready for it.
Playing in the SEC definitely, definitely helped. Gets way louder in the SEC than in any of these stadiums.”
As a person who’s been to an SEC and NFL game… I can agree.
Especially them fans down in Baton Rouge. They’re 10 times more rowdy down in the Bayou.
