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Rivalries are a large part of what makes college football the most watched sport in America. They increase fan interaction, give the players and the fans something to be excited about during an off year. Without rivalries many schools would have trouble with fan bases during off years (or decades as the case may be) and resultingly would have trouble fielding a team. Rivalries draw recriuts into a program because they know that they will finally be able to particapate in this event which has drawn so much hype in the past, it will allow them to gain national celebrity.
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Every school, no matter size or ability level has at least one major rivalry a year. Many schools have two or even three rivarly match ups a year. Rivalries are played for the future of the program, trophies such as the Little Brown Jug (Minnesota-Michigan), The Jeweled Shalay (Notre Dame-USC), and the Apple Cup (Washington-Washington State). The main reason rivalries are played is for pride and that is why they illustrate the difference between college football (and its fans devotion) in comparison to its professional counterpart. (taken from College Football Rivalries page.)
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