Associate Travel Editor
10-01-2007, 02:45 PM
http://www.southernliving.com/southern/images/travel_ss/seasonal_travel/1655110/navy.jpg
Photo credit: Scott Suchman
A record-setting crowd of 37,615 watched as the United States Naval Academy defeated rival Air Force in Annapolis Saturday.
With 6 of the top 13 teams suffering unexpected losses this past week, you won’t see the Air Force-Navy game featured in the highlight reels on ESPN. Neither team ranks in the Top 25, and neither plays in an elite conference.
Still, there’s something special about the service academy rivalries.
There’s the pomp and circumstance for one thing. Before every home game, the Naval Academy’s entire Brigade of Midshipmen assembles at The Yard in downtown Annapolis and marches to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. There, they take the field, saluting fans and opponents alike, then file into the stands to cheer on their team.
They had plenty to cheer about on Saturday. Air Force put up the first points with 2:20 left in the first quarter, answering Navy’s missed field goal with one of their own. After that, the score seesawed back and forth, each team answering the other. Then, trailing 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, Navy gambled on fourth-and-two at the goal line and took the lead for good. Quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (Betcha can't say that name fast three times!) iced the cake with a 78-yard touchdown run. Final score: Navy 31, Air Force 20.
I waited expectantly for a wild celebration to begin. As the final seconds expired, the gold-domed Navy team gathered at midfield, but the high fives and attaboys lasted just a few minutes. Then the Midshipmen turned to shake hands with the Falcons. Fans applauded, but few left their seats.
Together, the two teams walked to the north end zone where the Air Force Drum and Bugle Corps waited, and, incredibly, the defeated team began to sing. The Navy team and fans stood respectfully silent as AFA students and alumni recited their alma mater. Next, both teams moved to stand in front of the waiting Mids and their band. After a few cheers of jubilation, USNA students and alumni chanted their own alma mater, ending with an enthusiastic “Beat Army!”
I was puzzled. It wasn’t as if Navy students and fans lacked excitement over the win. After all, it had happened in front of a record crowd. “This is big,” a smiling Mid from the Class of 2010 told me. “It's real big. I mean, it’s not like beating Army or anything, but this is a big deal.”
A quick survey of the stadium put it all into perspective for me. The names of major battles and invasions adorn the concrete walls—Wake Island, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Mekong Delta, and yes, Enduring Freedom. Each and every one of these football players will go on to serve their country. Some of them will fight, and some may die. Winning on the football field today? It's not life and death. It's just a game.
Photo credit: Scott Suchman
A record-setting crowd of 37,615 watched as the United States Naval Academy defeated rival Air Force in Annapolis Saturday.
With 6 of the top 13 teams suffering unexpected losses this past week, you won’t see the Air Force-Navy game featured in the highlight reels on ESPN. Neither team ranks in the Top 25, and neither plays in an elite conference.
Still, there’s something special about the service academy rivalries.
There’s the pomp and circumstance for one thing. Before every home game, the Naval Academy’s entire Brigade of Midshipmen assembles at The Yard in downtown Annapolis and marches to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. There, they take the field, saluting fans and opponents alike, then file into the stands to cheer on their team.
They had plenty to cheer about on Saturday. Air Force put up the first points with 2:20 left in the first quarter, answering Navy’s missed field goal with one of their own. After that, the score seesawed back and forth, each team answering the other. Then, trailing 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, Navy gambled on fourth-and-two at the goal line and took the lead for good. Quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (Betcha can't say that name fast three times!) iced the cake with a 78-yard touchdown run. Final score: Navy 31, Air Force 20.
I waited expectantly for a wild celebration to begin. As the final seconds expired, the gold-domed Navy team gathered at midfield, but the high fives and attaboys lasted just a few minutes. Then the Midshipmen turned to shake hands with the Falcons. Fans applauded, but few left their seats.
Together, the two teams walked to the north end zone where the Air Force Drum and Bugle Corps waited, and, incredibly, the defeated team began to sing. The Navy team and fans stood respectfully silent as AFA students and alumni recited their alma mater. Next, both teams moved to stand in front of the waiting Mids and their band. After a few cheers of jubilation, USNA students and alumni chanted their own alma mater, ending with an enthusiastic “Beat Army!”
I was puzzled. It wasn’t as if Navy students and fans lacked excitement over the win. After all, it had happened in front of a record crowd. “This is big,” a smiling Mid from the Class of 2010 told me. “It's real big. I mean, it’s not like beating Army or anything, but this is a big deal.”
A quick survey of the stadium put it all into perspective for me. The names of major battles and invasions adorn the concrete walls—Wake Island, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Mekong Delta, and yes, Enduring Freedom. Each and every one of these football players will go on to serve their country. Some of them will fight, and some may die. Winning on the football field today? It's not life and death. It's just a game.