U.S. Navy's 13th Company To Run Army-Navy Football To FedEx Field
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ)—Saturday marks the 112th time the Army and Navy football teams have met on the field.
As Mike Schuh reports, a week of pep rallies was capped off by one of the newest traditions at the academy.
There are countless traditions at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Some, like the Army-Navy game, are very public.
Others only may affect a handful of midshipmen.
But on this day, a relatively new tradition continues. It's only 29 years old.
"It's a great time for us to be the face of the brigade," said Tyler Daniels, 13th Company.
So with the whole brigade watching, the 13th Company is assigned to run a football to the site of the Army-Navy game.
Why the 13th Company? The story goes that they were unlucky so they wanted to get them off the yard.
"Oh it is to get the company off the yard, but I think our record since then speaks to the contrary," said Tim Cadigan, of Towson.
So, with some from the original company who ran the ball for the first time running along, the 13th Company is led away by the commandant of the Naval Academy.
This year the game is at Fed Ex Field, so the runs was lengthened to go as far north as Towson.
Some Mids say the Army needs its marathon team to run their ball down from New York.
"Which I find ironic," Daniels said. "We don't need our marathon team to do it. We get a company to do it. Pick anyone on the yard. They'll run the football. We don't need our marathon team to do it."
You may see a group of three to 10 Navy midshipmen running that ball around our area Friday night. It will arrive at the stadium in Landover right before the game Saturday morning. It will have traveled 120 miles through Baltimore, Towson and the District of Columbia.
Watch the game live on WJZ Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
