There are a lot – and I do mean a lot – of sporting events I’d like to see live before my time on Earth is over. One of those is America’s Game, known more commonly as the annual Army-Navy football game.
It’ll be played this Saturday afternoon at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. Both teams enter the game with losing records, Army is 5-6, and Navy is 4-7. Both lost to Air Force this season so the Commander-in-Chief‘s Trophy is not at stake (it’s already resting in Colorado Springs for the first time since 2016).
Yet, there will be thousads of cadets dressed to impress in the stands and it will be a full house of over 67,000 fans. There will be pomp, there will be circumstance, and there will no doubt be a flyover. If past experiences tell us anything, there will also be some crazy weather that will be off-putting to watch … even from the comfort of my own recliner. Oh, and if I wanted to book a quick flight to Philly or hop in my car for a 10-hour ride and see it in person, tickets range from $200 in the upper reaches of the stadium to over $1100 for club level seating. For what it’s worth, that’s roughly the same price range for tickets to the January 2, 2023 Rose Bowl between Utah and Penn State.
Having said all that, I still want to experience it once.
I’ve done absolutely zero research, but are there any other rivalries that have their own officially sanctioned website? Army-Navy does! Complete with a countdown clock. Check it out here. There’s even something called the Star Series which tracks the results of every Army-Navy athletic competition annually, dating back to 2016-17.
Perhaps my fascination with the game dates to that time back in 1992 I had an opportunity to interview Navy’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Roger Staubach, who was in Ann Arbor for an event at Domino’s Farms. The combination of his humility and his fond recollections of that game are still etched upon my mind.
Or, maybe, it’s because it’s the only major college football game played the second weekend in December each year and it has the eyes of a nation to itself (as it should).
Whatever the reason, I’ll be tuning in this Saturday wondering when the opportunity to attend in person will present itself. If, like me, this is an itch you’d like to scratch, check out the future sites here. Up next, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA, on December 9, 2023.