Pro football is the imitator. College football was invented in 1869 by well-intentioned students from Princeton and Rutgers. Pro football was born as a business in the 1920s, grew as a business, forever will be a business. College football permeates more pockets of this country, in towns big and small. It's flannel and corduroy and tradition.
Pro football is polyester and plastic and the salary cap.
College games simply matter more. Pro football can be highly entertaining. It just can't match the college game's history and emotions. Pro fans need geeky devices such as fantasy football to make the game more appealing. College fans need only a small flask of schnapps.