BLOG: Army/Navy - America's Game
This Saturday one of the most storied rivalries in all of college football takes place in Philadelphia. The Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen meet for the 111th time. Recently the series has been dominated by the Midshipmen. Navy has won eight in a row by an average score of 36-9. But unlike most rivalries this series is more than just football. No game means more all over the world than this one. With troops stationed all over the world still, for at least 3 hours they get to forget about what they are doing from a day-to-day basis and get lost in the moment of the football game. Another thing to think about is the amount of seniors who will never play a sport they absolutely love ever again. This is not Miami vs. Oklahoma where many players will be playing on Sundays. Most, if not all of the Army and Navy players will be serving their country in a time of war.
There is nothing better than attending an Army-Navy Game live and in person. I had Navy Football season tickets and had a chance to go to the game in 2007 when it was held in Baltimore. Being a Navy fan I was happy with the outcome, the Midshipmen won 38-3. However the final score was the thing that I least remembered. First with the pregame festivities, the tremendous fly overs with the Navy jets and the Army Black Hawks. Parachuters also jumped out of a plane and landed perfectly on the 50 yard line.
The one thing I enjoyed maybe the most was the spirit messages from both the Army and Navy military people stationed all over the world. There was one touching moment as well, two men who had lost their legs due to road side bombs were in attendance and their story was told for the whole stadium. It is safe to say there were not many dry eyes in the crowd. These men sacrificed a lot so we could live our everyday lives, them and all of our military fight for us to be able to enjoy that game, and all the men on the football field that day were about to make the same commitment. Attending the Army-Navy game is one of those things I recommend doing before you die. It is the most enjoyable and the most prideful sporting event I have ever attended. We complain about the Ravens, Orioles and a lot of sports related things on a daily basis. If you want to just sit back and enjoy a football game and enjoy the patriotism and want to have a sense of pride in our future military personnel watch the Army-Navy game on Saturday, you won't be disappointed.
Andy Snakovsky – 1057 The Fan staff writer
