Circa Early 1970s: The Army-Navy Postgame Show
The long, storied history of the Army-Navy rivalry has given us many of the game’s great players, moments and legends. The names – Blaik, Blanchard, Beagle, Bellino, Cagle, Carpenter, Davis, Duden, Dawkins, Staubach, just to name a few – are synonymous with gridiron excellence. And the games, from the landmark clashes of the Roaring '20s to the thrilling finishes of the modern era, rank with college football’s epic contests.</p>
<p>But in my opinion, the rivalry’s most enduring legacy is not what has happened on the field during the series’ 115-year history, but what transpires immediately following the conclusion of an Army-Navy game. That scene, for the uninitiated, is truly one of the most magical moments in college football. Unlike the scenes following other heated rivalry games, postgame scuffles at Army-Navy are rare. No trash-talking. No tasteless, teamwide celebration dances. No hurling of insults, profanities or bottles by fans. No tumbling goalposts.</p>
<p>When time expires, the winning team simply and purposefully moves en masse to the losing squad’s side of the field and proceeds to sing that school’s alma mater with its counterparts. The losing squad crosses the field and matches the gesture in front of the victor’s cheering section. Win, lose or draw, it’s a powerful moment that has sent chills throughout the Army Corps and the Navy Brigade, as well as the fans in attendance, for years.</p>
<p>No one, including old-timers, historians and officials associated with both schools, knows precisely when the tradition began. According to Navy football historian Jack Clary, it wasn’t until sometime after the 1960s that the tradition, as known today, took its current form. But clearly, its roots go much deeper.</p>
<p>During the early years of World War II, gas rationing and travel restrictions prevented most fans and cheering squads from accompanying their teams to away games. As a result, for the 1942 Army-Navy game at Annapolis, some midshipmen were ordered by the Navy to sit in the visitor’s section, and – take a deep breath here – cheer for Army. In 1943, Army earmarked a squad of Cadets to return the favor at West Point.</p>
<p>Imagine that taking place in the SEC.</p>
<p>The Army-Navy postgame show remains one of the classiest displays of respect in sports. And for good reason. When these players – especially the seniors playing in their last game – remove their helmets and sing each other’s alma mater, it signifies the moment when they go from being rivals to being teammates on a much more important squad.</p>
<p>The tradition of the singing of the alma maters after the Army-Navy game is, in many ways, sportsmanship’s last stand, a relic of a bygone era in sports when, to paraphrase legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice, it mattered not who won or lost, but how you played the game – and how you behaved when the final gun sounded.