Ghosts of Army/Navy Games Past...

So yet another Army week has arrived at USNA, and the silly boys are out in full force, capitalizing on this special week to play pranks and act like they did when they were 12. I'm glad they get to have their fun, and some of it is very funny, but I would just prefer not to spend my time trying to conjure up a plan to take the pipe's out of all the plebes' sinks or put leaves in their rooms. I don't know... I guess I'm just slightly dull and unadventurous when it comes to stuff like that. Or maybe it's because I have 3 tests and 2 projects to do this week. Anyway, with the 104th Army/Navy game just 3 days away, my thoughts often drift back to the previous three Army/Navy games I've been to.

I attended my first A/N game my senior year of high school, and I have to admit that I cheered for the enemy during that game. But it's ok. I had no ties to Annapolis at that time, except the fact that I already had my appointment to Navy by then, but I did not finally decide to come here until about 5 months after the game. At that time, as far as I knew, it was equally likely that I would end up at West Point, Georgia Tech, UD, Villanova, or any other of the 8 schools I applied to.

But anyway, my parents, little sister, and I flew up to New Jersey and then drove to West Point to pick Leah up before driving to Philly. For some reason, we decided to rent a Ford Excursion, so we ended up driving Leah and her then "friend" Brice and his lacrosse teammate Doug to Philly. That was the first time I ever met Brice, and little did we know then, but Brice would later make the transition to being leah's boyfriend, fiance, and now husband! And Doug would be a groomsman at the wedding over two and a half years later. But at that time, all I remember is that the two of them sat in the back seat of the Excursion and slept the WHOLE WAY. I definitely didn't understand back then how precious sleep is. If I was the same person then that I am now, I would have been passed out right along with them. I still remember the shirt Brice was wearing when I first met him, believe it or not. It was a light blue shirt, with a Nike Swoosh, exciting, I know.

The game was extremely exciting, and we were extremely happy at the outcome, because like I said earlier, I was rooting for Army that year. I even had an Army game day shirt that I wore. The day of the game was actually extremely warm....like 60 degrees. We Floridians were definitely loving that. President Bush actually attended that game, and there was a lot of hype surrounding the whole thing because barely 3 months had passed since 9/11. I'll never forget the Golden Knights and LeapFrogs sky diving, and the recitation of Douglas MacArthur's famous "Duty, Honor, Country" speech by General Norman Schwarzkopf...wow...that was amazing. I also got a first hand look at those "spirit spots" my sister was always talking about.