What makes sense about the infatuation with pro sports? As Jerry Seinfeld says, you're basically cheering for laundry.
And better players doesn't mean better on field product. Plus, college sports in America has a much deeper history, longer rivalries (frankly college rivalries make pro rivalries look like they aren't even rivalries) and way more regional and academic ties.
Take someone living in North Carolina, for example. Yeah they could watch "the best" and tune into the Hornets getting their asses beat on a nightly basis. Or you can cheer for the Tar Heels, a historically successful program with Hall of Famers like Michael Jordan among its alumni, huge games against big rivals, and a place where you and half your family going back 4 generations all went to school.
That's probably an extreme example but it extends all across the country.