Army Navy Rivalry Leaves A House Divided
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) --- Family Rivalry. One of the top football rivalries comes to Baltimore as Navy takes on Army this Saturday. Marcus Washington has the story of a house divided.
In a century plus old football rivalry, a split house is bound to happen.
"My mom's dad was a Navy pilot who graduated in '64," midshipmen, David Tisler said.
For Tisler, it was simple. Growing up in South Carolina, he knew two things. One, he wanted to attend the Naval Academy like his papa. And the other...
"In kindergarten, when people say I want to be a police officer, I want to be a firefighter or whatever, I wanted to be a pilot," Tisler said.
Two dreams nearly complete as he gears up to graduate from the Naval Academy in 2015 then heading to flight school in Florida.
For nearly four years, Tisler has enjoyed his time at the Naval Academy and he's seen a lot of Army Navy games. But this year, it's something a little different.
"My younger brother, Mark, is a plebe at West Point so his first year up there and beating him is really important to me," Tisler said. "There's a pretty great rivalry we have."
But, the past 12 years, the Navy has taken home the victory over Army. David is hoping for a lucky 13 this time around. As for his parents...
"My parents are coming up for the game on Saturday so they got seats right at the half so Army's on one side, Navy's on the other and they're bringing a big old sign that says The Air Force so I think that's a pretty fair way to try and be as impartial as you can get," Tisler said.
Tisler said the rivalry is all in fun. The uniforms they wear may not look alike, but the brotherhood they both belong to is just as strong as the love they have for one another.
"It's really neat to talk about yeah you know they're on land and we're on sea, but in the end we all serve the same purpose, we all serve the same goal so we talk about 364 days united and one day divided for the Army Navy game," Tisler said.
This Saturday it's Army vs. Navy. The rivalry comes to Baltimore. Pre-game coverage starts at 12 p.m. followed by the game only on WJZ.
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