Army Navy Game Is The Highlight Of The Season

Nov 1, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; Navy Midshipmen wide receiver Thomas Wilson (89) celebrates after a touchdown in the first quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

I’m stepping away from Jets football today to remind everyone that the Army Navy game is this Saturday. I hope my readers don’t mind, but this game has always been near and dear to my heart. It’s full of rivalry, excitement and silly antics leading up to the “Big Game”.  The game itself is often rather dull, but you can put your money on the fact that I’ll be sitting in front of the TV! I found my old Navy  ball cap with my squadron’s insignia on it last month in the attic! I will be wearing it proudly!

This year the game is being played in Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium. This year’s game marks its 115th year of the rivalry! The game was first played in 1890!! CBS will air the game nationally at 3 p.m.!!  Before the game, CBS will air a “March On” special leading up to the game starting at 12 pm. The special always is a lot of fun, and I’ll begin warming my seat for the game at that time.

Now many of you might be thinking why I am writing a piece like this on a Jets site. Well, I ‘ll tell you why! First it’s a family tradition in my family. My dad and my uncles come from the “great generation”. They served in both branches during WWII and gathered annually at my father’s house in Queens to watch the game. I guess you could say I found my love of football watching this game with my family! This was no ordinary football game in my household! My mom would cook for days leading up to the big event! My uncles and my dad would start the antics about a week before!

My dad once drove to Pennsylvania to soap his Army brother’s Cadillac with “Go Navy ..Beat Army”! Another time my dad found a stuffed goat on his porch, totally mangled with a note that read Army Destroys Navy!! The stories go on and on, my uncle “Buster” once showed up for the game stuffed into his old  Navy Uniform! It didn’t quite fit, but there was tons of laughter. Pre-game brought terrible renditions of both service’s fight songs! These are fond memories for me, I hold them close to my heart today, as both my parents are no longer with us.

But this game is more then just memories! Its football lore! It’s the Super Bowl for most of these young men, who will never likely see a NFL field. The game is played for pride! Pride of the academies! Pride of the Players! And most of all its played with the pride we all should have in our Service Men and Women! To see a stadium filled to the rafters with these young men and women rooting their academies on is a sight to behold! The bands are electrifying, rocking the stadium after every score! The cannons! The mascots!! It’s a circus atmosphere and all in attendance will be hoarse come the next morning! To put it simply, in this game, the fans are every bit as important as the players on the field!

If you are free Saturday afternoon, I encourage you to tune in. These men and women both in the stands and on the field will soon be going off to war to protect us; I think we owe it to ourselves to watch these kids let loose! I’ll pray as is my family tradition, after the final gun for their safety and safe return. I hope you might as well.

Ok, I’m getting off my “soap box” now! I’d like to thank my readers for being patient with me as I wander from Jets football this week. I’d also like to thank my editor, for allowing me to run it on this site. I’m a proud Navy veteran, and as such, I’ll end this piece by screaming “GO NAVY!! BEAT ARMY!! ANCHOR”S AWAY MY FRIENDS!!