Army Navy Set For Combat

The Army Navy rivalry dates back 122 years to November 29, 1890 when the Army accepted a challenge brought to them from the Naval Academy. At the time Benjamin Harrison was running the oval office as the president of the United States of America.Since then, Philadelphia has mainly been the anchor of America’s Rivalry Game as Mayor Nutter welcomes back both Army and Navy for an 84th time as they conclude the 2012 college football season.

For the first time since 2005, Army and Navy will battle for the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, since the two military academies swept Air Force earlier on this season. In addition, the Black Knights and the Midshipmen will contend and fight for the Thompson Cup, which is distributed to the winner of America’s Rivalry game.

The Midshipmen lead the all-time series over the Black Knights totaling a record of 56-47-9 and have won 10 consecutive games outscoring the Black Knights 349 to 112.

You may ask, what makes the Army-Navy clash different from other rivalries in college football?  These players are not playing for NFL contracts or the big time endorsements. These fellow athletes and future soldiers who will one day protect our grounds, play the game the way it should be played.They play for the love of the game!

Many athletes in today’s society nowadays play for the fame and glory, instead of the real meaning of sports. Once the game is over the two academies come together to acknowledge they are truly on the same team, with one love of country and pride of duty. If Under Armour or Nike really want to have their products endorsed by real heroes, they will be in Philadelphia this Saturday to sign every athlete and every coach!

This weekend’s game is all about the passion, love, and dedication. For at least one weekend, the game will be played with a heart filled of ambition instead of worrying about raising one’s draft stock. There is a reason why only 68 athletes were drafted out of both academies. Every athlete representing both academies understand there is more to life about sports.

This game provides future members of our military one final chance to showcase their skills and compete against one another for bragging rights before they go on to much bigger and better things outside of football!

Kickoff this Saturday is slated for 3:00 p.m. and can be seen on CBS.