PJ Guippone

The 118th installment of the Army-Navy rivalry will take place today at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia at 3 pm EST. Coming off breaking a 14 year win streak for Navy, Army is a three point underdog. They seem primed to start up a bit of a win streak of their own considering they had the better season at 8-3, compared to the 6-5 mark posted by Navy.

The game is valued for its tradition. Every year, the cadets from West Point and the midshipmen from the Naval Academy travel to Philadelphia, which is nearly halfway, to fight for bragging rights amongst servicemen. There is immense pride from both schools and the history creates an atmosphere that is electric every season for College Football’s regular season finale.

The problem is some people think this is all it is at this point. The style of play, triple option from both squads, is fairly outdated. The level of play is not that high due to a lot of military academy restrictions. The teams rarely even face off when they both have a winning record. It is far removed from the days when the game had National Championship implications. An article from Deadspin about the rivalry went as far to say it is living on borrowed time.

This year, the attitude is different

Army and Navy aren’t just making this game relevant before the game even starts, they are making it must see tv. We have had the pleasure of seeing some really fantastic uniforms this year, like Iowa’s all-blacks they wore when they kicked the snot out of Ohio State (probably right out of the Playoff), Tennessee’s uniforms that are the only bright spot in that program, and Colorado State’s flag uniforms.

Nothing has even come close to either of these. I mean come on. The Navy helmets have the fucking Blue Angels flying across them. If that doesn’t get you fired up then you are a boring person and you probably don’t like sports so I don’t totally understand you anyway. Army with the all-whites just flexing on everyone. Those are some of the cleanest threads you will ever see on a football field. Also, they are commemorating the 10th Light Division, otherwise known as the Pando Commandos.

Congrats to both military academies for keeping this rivalry relevant and an integral part of the College Football season. Gameday is there, there are snow flurries in Philadelphia, the uniforms are electric and the cadets/midshipmen are fired up. It’s Army-Navy football. God Bless America.