Simply football, simply beautiful
The emphasis was not on turnover chains, end zone celebrations, shoe deals, or draft status.
When Army edged Navy 14-13 on Saturday and won the Commander-in Chief’s Trophy for the first time since 1996, something rare took place — it was just about football.
It was football in the snow.
It was running the ball.
It was blocking and tackling.
It was seven-plus minute drives.
It was field position and the kicking game.
It was bloody noses, bruises, and black eyes.
It was as close as to being football played the way God intended as it has been in a very long time.
Playing on a natural surface with the added element of mud would have made the game better. Leather helmets and at least one attempted drop kick would have made it perfect.
I get the feeling that somewhere Gen. Robert Neyland, Paul “Bear” Bryant, Woody Hayes, and yes, former Army Assistant Coach Vince Lombardi were not only smiling, they were applauding.
In all honesty, Woody Hayes was probably cheering — very loudly — as well.
If there is such a thing as a genuine throwback game, this was it. After all, this series launched in November 1890 and for a good portion of the 20th Century, the game had implications on national rankings.
Forget that the last time either team was ranked number one (it was the Roger Staubach-led Navy squad in 1963) was more than 50 years ago. This remains one of the most enjoyable rivalries in college football if not all of sports.
It was enjoyable to watch 22 young men play the game to win for the sake of their teammates and their academies.
Each team played with the kind of heart, pride, and passion that are too often found only in the fanbases of most major college teams.
These student-athletes are exceptional in that they are really are students first. They represent what the very ideal of what the NCAA should be representing and promoting — not the one and done basketball players or underclassmen declaring for the NFL Draft.
When the Cadets and Midshipmen go pro, terms like “bombs” and “defense” will take on a whole different meaning than football.
Some of the guys who played Saturday will one day occupy the highest levels of the Pentagon and some will leave the military for successful lives in the private sector.
And just as likely, some of those young men could one day give the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their country.
Maybe it’s just me, but the Army-Navy game is always special simply because it’s Army and Navy but for whatever reason this year it seemed to mean more.
Division is rife in our society right now perhaps more than any time since the late 1960s. It seems as though we as a nation are splintered into factions on almost every issue before us.
Scandal seems to be a daily event and the very sports we watch to seek a refuge from the “real world” have become entwined in controversy.
And as we have witnessed this year, football is far from immune to said controversy. Coaches, players, broadcasters, and at the professional level, even owners, have been wrapped up in it.
Saturday’s game was a refreshing reminder of what college football once was before multi-billion dollar television deals and catchphrase producing beer commercials took precedent over the product on the field and the guys in pads.
I considered it an early Christmas present to college football fans everywhere.
Saturday, it was simply about the game.
And it was beautiful.