Faceoff- College has more excitement

Back in 2006, The George Mason men’s basketball team won the Colonial Athletic Conference tournament and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The Patriots, who were a 13 seed, won their first four games by upsetting top programs in the tournament, leading them into the Final Four. However, this year in the NBA there are no talks of giving the Nets a chance at the title, even if they go on a late winning streak.

This example demonstrates one of the reasons why college basketball is better than the NBA.
 March Madness is possibly the greatest event in all of sports thanks to the crazy upsets. This is also the place where smaller schools get their shots at big name NCAA programs to show people how good their teams actually are.

However, the NBA has a 16-team playoff with each round containing a seven-game series. Usually I just want the season to be over by this point, but the NBA playoffs extend the season by two-and-a-half months.

March Madness is a perfect setup giving hot teams, who did not start off the season the strongest, a chance to go dancing in March with the conference tournaments. After that, 65 teams play in the NCAA Tournament. In addition, there are other postseason tournaments for teams who did not get one of those 65 spots.

This is the best format for the postseason for basketball and nothing in any other sport can match the intensity and excitement that the NCAA tournament brings.
 Another factor that make the collegiate level of basketball much more entertaining than the NBA is the atmosphere around the college game.

There are no better fans than crazy college students in a section together cheering on their team, showing no love for the opposing team, jumping around to “Zombie Nation” while the team is trying to score a game winner, and charging the court after a major upset.  No one sees any of this happen for an NBA team.

 Many of the players interact with the fans, trying to get them more involved in the game and cheer louder. One of the best examples of this is Greivis Vasquez, who taunts opposing crowds and does fun celebrations to pump up the crowd.

In the NBA, many players want to focus on how much money they are getting and where they would rather play. The difference is that college players decided to play where they want and none of them are making money for playing, so their only motivation is to win.
The NBA gets boring since the games and seasons are too long, however watching college basketball stays exciting throughout since the games are the perfect length and the attitudes of players and fans bring more thrill to the game.

Faceoff- pros are superior athletes

When you hear of players like Tyler Hansbrough, Adam Morrison, J.J. Redick and Christian Laettner you think of college superstars, but when these players jump to the NBA, you think of bench warmers.

These college players, turn into benchwarmers when they reach the NBA because NCAA players compared to NBA players, are less experienced, less athletic and less skilled. Therefore, the NBA is more entertaining than the NCAA.

The competition is just not as strong in the NCAA. For example, when North Carolina-Asheville played at Tennessee this season they lost horribly 124-49. Blowouts are not only boring to watch but they are frequent in the NCAA, while in the NBA, blowouts do not occur as often because the average game is higher scoring, closer and has more energy.

One reason the NBA has more energy than the NCAA is because the NBA has superstars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Dwight Howard. These NBA high fliers make games more interesting as they have the ability to create unbelievable plays that college players would never be able to perform.

The NBA is also more balanced than the NCAA because the NCAA gives select teams unfair advantages. For example, each NBA team plays the same number of home and away games in a season; college teams do not.

This season, the Duke Blue Devils went 13-1 in their first 14 games, their only loss being the only away game in the 14-game stretch. Watching college basketball is less fun knowing teams like Duke, who are given unfair advantages, are favored over other teams.

Compared to college basketball, the NBA playoffs are done more fairly. A team makes the NBA playoffs based on its record. A team gets into the NCAA Tournament by winning a conference tournament or if the team is voted as one of the top teams in the nation.

The NCAA has a worse style for the playoffs because a team might have played a great season with a solid record, but not make the NCAA Tournament because they are not considered a top team.

Players in the NCAA are shorter and not as strong as NBA players, which is why the NBA has more exciting plays, better dunks and more alley oops. Not only are the players shorter, but the NCAA has shorter games, a shorter season, shorter playoffs and shorter fans. The NBA has a longer season with more action packed games and better playoffs, making the organization more entertaining.

Faceoff: Potbelly’s serves scrumptious subs

Rotten subs, terrible service and bread with knives in it are some of the complaints Subway customers have expressed over the years. Potbelly’s on the other hand, is a much better sub chain, serving delicious, hot sandwiches, tasty milkshakes, a warm welcoming atmosphere and knife-free subs; and not to mention, owner Bryant Keil is a CHS alumnus.

Potbelly’s has been providing these wonderful life essentials since 1977, when it started as an antique shop selling sandwiches to beloved customers. Unlike some other sandwich chains, Potbelly’s has maintained the same atmosphere and charm that it had when it first started, and the food is stellar.

Sandwich competitor Subway offers thin, processed slices of meat, terrible customer service and a lack of delicious milkshakes. Potbelly’s on the other hand, has quality meat, friendly employees and has a large supply of frozen treats.

Eating at Potbelly’s is a pleasurable experience, coupling delicious food with dessert and live music. At Subway you get a sub-par sandwich, wallpaper, and in my experience, unwelcoming employees.
A toasted sub at Subway consists of a roll of bread, meat and cheese going into a microwave on steroids and coming out seconds later stale and soggy. Potbelly’s toasts subs on a magical conveyer belt of deliciousness. Potbelly’s cares if your sandwich comes out the way you like it. Subway cares about throwing toppings on a piece of bread and collecting exact change.

Potbelly’s locations such as Rio, Rockville Town Center, and downtown Bethesda are all right next to movie theatres and entertainment attractions. The sandwiches, baked goods and frozen treats are a wonderful way to enjoy a night out with your best buds.
Subway relies on commercial pulls and catchy jingles to sway consumers rather than using their actual food. “Jared lost weight,” “Eat Fresh” or “5 dollar foot long” are all pathetic marketing pleas that a sandwich consumer should not be fooled by. Even Subway.com admits that Jared’s weight loss was due to exercise and his results are not typical.

Potbelly’s stays true to the one thing people love, food. The bottom line is people go out to enjoy food and have a good time, not lose weight or “Eat fresh.”

Faceoff: Subway offers great variety

All day long your teachers and parents tell you what to do, but at Subway, you are the boss.
 Subway is an exceptional sub and sandwich shop, and hands down the best sandwich restaurant around in comparison with Quizno’s and Potbelly’s.

Subway is so great for two reasons. One is that, unlike its inferior opponent Potbelly’s, you get to watch the freshest and most nutritious ingredients being added to your food.

At Subway, a 6-inch marinara meatball sub, including cheese and various vegetables (lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, olives, onions and green peppers), only has 580 calories. At Potbelly’s, a meatball sub not including cheese or anything except the meat, sauce and bread is 618 calories.

When you enter  Subway, you are directed to the start of the line where you can pick one of eight hearty and fresh baked breads.
Proceeding from there, you are offered the choice of 13 savory meats, six delectable cheeses, nine fresh vegetables and 11 different sandwich condiments. The possibilities are almost endless and are sure to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters.

In a world where obesity is at an all time high, Subway offers eight healthy sandwiches containing “6 grams or less” fat, meeting the dietary and nutrition needs of the healthiest of eaters.

Another plus about Subway is that it has a location in every state and in 90 countries ranging from Argentina to Zambia.

Due to the recent, economic downturn, money is scarce and people are reserved about eating out, but never fear, at Subway you always get your money’s worth.

While a six-inch sub at Potbelly’s is $4.77, Subway offers eight different foot-long subs for $5 each. Potbelly’s also offers a larger nine-inch sub for $5.77, which is smaller and more expensive than the average Subway sub.

Subway and Potbelly’s may be completely different, but they share one thing in common–they both live up to their names. Subway is named for its specialty subs and makes no claims to being anything more than its name. Potbelly’s is also appropriately named because a pot belly is exactly what you will get if you eat their fattening subs.