2007…Army-Navy!

It’s almost here, the event that our armed forces around the world and their families and friends anticipate all year: The Army/Navy Game! This rivalry has been active for more than a century and is so well know that the word “football” is superfluous. With Navy’s five consecutive wins since 2002 the overall balance is in the seafarers’ favor (51-49); in 2005 Navy was first to the 50 game win mark.

The game used to be played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but now is played on the first Saturday in December. It will be the last game of the season for both teams.

Through the years, much has been written about this series. I just recently was made aware of two books, Gridiron Glory: The Story of the Army-Navy Football Rivalry, by Barry Wilner, and A Civil War, by John Feinstein, which are now on my personal reading list. Wikipedia covers the rivalry’s history, compete with the wins/losses by year. Both West Point and The Naval Academy have Web pages for their respective teams.

And there’s this:

”’We are notifying our naval counterparts that we are very happy to report that the goat has been located and that their beloved mascot will be returned to them,’ Lt. Col. James Whaley, the West Point spokesman, said yesterday.” More.

More recently:

“Bill XXXII, Bill XXXIII and Bill XXXIV - the three angora goats who serve as the Naval Academy’s mascot - were stolen early on the morning of Nov. 17 during ‘Operation Good Shepherd,’ the code name for the thieves’ caper.” More.

This year’s game will be played at noon, local time, at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland. CBS will televise the game, check your local listings.

~ Dempsey

===== UPDATE 2007/12/01 =====

Congratulations to the midshipmen on their win, 38-3.