The Army-Navy game transcends sports, and that’s not hyperbole

Army-Navy Game is a once-in-a-lifetime experience

LANDOVER, MARYLAND — This still is not the earliest I have arrived at a sporting competition.

That honor would go to the United States Grand Prix this past October, when I parked my rental car at the Circuit of the Americas just before 8:00 a.m. local time, for a race that would begin just after 3:00 p.m. that afternoon. I was early enough that I was able to secure one of the closest spaces to the entrance to the paddock, but “closest” is a relative term when you still need to take a shuttle to said entrance.

Thankfully the team members at Aston Martin, who seemed a little sleepy themselves, were rather friendly as we rode off together towards the paddock and an uncertain day.

Still, a sleepy paddock on race day has more than its fair share of electricity in the air, which only builds throughout the day as the teams, fans, and eventually drivers begin to arrive. All that electricity builds to a moment when five lights go out, and 20 turbocharged engines roar to life.

I thought nothing would top that kind of electricity. But then shortly before noon on Saturday at Northwest Stadium, a row of red formed along the corner of the end zone, a mass of photographers lying in wait near the tunnel.

Shortly after, the Army marching band emerged, posting up in the end zone, and the grew wall followed. The Corps of Cadets, marching in formation along the Navy sideline, soon engulfed the entire playing surface at Northwest Stadium:

As quickly as they marched onto the field, the Corps of Cadets was marching off, disappearing momentarily under the stands at Northwest Stadium before filling in the sections below us in the press box, the long grey line snaking its way through the stands and into their assigned rows.

Next, it was time for the Brigade of Midshipmen, who mirrored the march from the Corps of Cadets, their distinctive dress-white hats glistening in the sun. Their pace was also quicker, as according to the pre-game timing sheet things were behind schedule. Eventually, they were all in place, including the field at Northwest Stadium as their brethren from West Point had done minutes before.

It was just after 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. Kickoff of the 125th Army-Navy Game was still two hours away.

But the electricity was unlike anything I’ve seen before.

Ultimately, Army-Navy is a football game and a good one at that. The Midshipmen entered Saturday’s game with an 8-3 record and with a pair of wins in their final two games of the season — against Army and over Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl — they can clinch just their sixth double-digit win season in school history.

As for the 22nd-ranked Black Knights, they were coming off a win over Tulane in the AAC Championship Game, and with just one more win, whether Saturday against their rivals or in the Independence Bowl over Marshall (or the team that replaces Marshall, given reporting on Saturday that the Thundering Herd were opting out of the game), they’ll set a new school record with 12 victories on the season.

Plus there is a trophy at stake, a big one, the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, given to the winner of the games between Army, Navy, and Air Force. With both Army and Navy beating Air Force earlier in the season, Saturday’s winner will take that trophy home outright.

Still, the pageantry is everywhere. In the minutes leading up to kickoff teams from both schools complete their Game Ball Run, Army’s Marathon Team having finished their 300-mile trek from West Point. At the same time, Navy’s 13th Company — minus some football players and band members — brought their journey from Annapolis to a close.

Then there are parachute teams from both schools landing near midfield, the coin toss featuring the Secretary of Defense, and then the Corps of Cadets losing their minds to “Tsunami” just before kickoff:

Finally, the game begins.

With Army having deferred the opening kickoff, the Midshipmen start with tremendous field position as the kickoff sails out of bounds, gifting Navy a 1st and 10 at their 35-yard line.

65 yards later the Midshipmen are in the end zone, courtesy of a Blake Horvath plunge from one foot.

Army’s offense takes the field, led by quarterback Bryson Daily, the AAC Offensive Player of the Year and the sixth-leading vote-getter in the Heisman Trophy voting. Serenaded by changes of “Bry-son Dai-ly,” the Black Knights offense begins their first possession of the game, but it ended shortly thereafter, as Army went three-and-out.

The first big decision of the game came on the first play of the second quarter. With Army facing 4th and inches from their own 21-yard line, head coach Jeff Monken had the break between quarters to come up with a plan for fourth down.

He left his offense on the field. Daily picked up the first down on an interior plunge, and the Corps of Cadets roared in approval.

Or it was a sigh of relief, it was hard to tell from my vantage point in the press box.

That relief did not last long, as a few plays later Daily and company faced third and long. The Army QB dropped into the pocket and looked for Casey Reynolds along the right side, but Navy cornerback Dashaun Peele stepped in front of the throw, his interception marking the game’s first turnover.

And sending the Brigade of Midshipmen into a frenzy.

Something that you do not pick up watching the Army-Navy Game from home, but that you cannot escape when attending in person, is the absolute pride the Corps of Cadets and the Brigade of Midshipmen have in their respective institutions and their respective branches.

That pride is evident on not just every snap of the game, but every video shown on the scoreboard. Commercials featuring members of their respective branches receive the same roars are a first down, images of the Secretary of the Navy, or Secretary of the Army, get the same approval as a touchdown run from Horvath or a touchdown toss from Daily.

But it truly shows with every single snap. The Cadets and the Midshipmen treat every down like it might be the last, or the one that decides the game against their biggest rivals. Every play matters.

When you think about what awaits them, it begins to make sense.

Daily’s turnover gifted Navy incredible field position, and it did not take long for the Midshipmen to cash in. A quick three-play drive, featuring a pair of runs from quarterback Blake Horvath and then an 18-yard touchdown from Horvath to Brandon Chatman put Navy up 14-0, early in the second quarter.

The mood in front of me from the Corps of Cadets had taken a turn, but Horvath’s touchdown pass was his 12th on the season, putting him one shy of a new school record.

However, Daily picked up the sixth-most Heisman Trophy votes in the nation for a reason, and soon enough the Black Knights were on the scoreboard. Monken faced another decision midway through the second quarter, with Army facing a 4th-and-3 situation, and the head coach trusted his Heisman vote-getter, leaving the offense on the field just inside Navy territory.

Daily delivered on a corner route to Casey Reynolds, picking up 18 critical yards for the Black Knights. Two plays later Daily showed the Midshipmen a quarterback draw, before pulling up to loft a pass in the direction of Hayden Reed for a 23-yard touchdown.

Game on.

The last true bit of pageantry comes at halftime. Following a performance from the USMA Rock Bank comes the “Crossover,” when Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin makes his way from the Navy sideline to the Army sideline, flanked by saluting Midshipmen and Cadets:

Now all that is left is the small matter of deciding a winner, and which team sings their alma mater second.

Army closed the gap to 14-10 on their first drive of the second half, as kicker Trey Gronotte converted a 39-yard field to trim the Navy lead to four.

But it did not take long for the Midshipmen to answer.

A 42-yard kickoff return from Isaiah Bryant gave Navy a first down near midfield to start their ensuing possession. Two plays later, the Midshipmen were back up 21-10, as Horvath connected with Eli Heidenreich for a 52-yard touchdown, sending the Midshipmen into a frenzy:

The touchdown also saw Horvath tie the Navy record for touchdown passes in a single season, and Heidenreich matched the school’s touchdown reception mark in a single year.

Heidenreich received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for the celebratory spike, but more important was Navy’s second double-digit lead of the game. With just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter, could Army get back into the contest behind Daily?

A pivotal moment came late in the third quarter when Monken left Daily and the offense on the field for 4th and 6 with just over four minutes left in the quarter. Daily’s pass fell incomplete, but Navy linebacker Kenneth McShan was flagged for a roughing the passer penalty, which gifted Army a fresh set of downs.

Army’s drive continued, carrying over to the fourth quarter when that frame began with Daily missing a wide-open Reynolds in the end zone on 2nd and 9. A subsequent throw to the end zone on third down fell incomplete, and Army was forced to settle for a field goal as Gronotte converted from just 31 yards out.

21-13 Navy with 14:44 remaining, and everything to play for.

Navy knew it too, and with the Midshipmen facing a fourth down near midfield Navy called for the fake punt, snapping it to the upback Landon Robinson. Robinson rumbled ahead for 29 yards and while he fumbled the ball at the end of the play, teammate Noah Beck pounced on the loose football to keep possession with the Midshipmen.

Four runs from Horvath later, and they were back up 28-13 with under nine minutes to go.

It would be too much for Army to overcome. Daily was intercepted on an ill-advised throw across his body on Army’s next possession, giving Navy not just the football, but a chance to work the rest of the clock, and an early start on the celebrations. Nathan Kirkwood tacked on a field goal to stake the Midshipmen to a 31-13 lead, and Daily was intercepted for a third time on the first snap of Army’s next drive.

The “overrated” chants began from the Brigade of Midshipmen, and Navy would sing second on this night:

The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy is headed back to Annapolis.

“We knew coming in if we would have those explosive plays we were going to score points, and have a chance to win. And part of the reason we’re doing what we’re doing offensively is for these Academy games,” said Navy Head Coach Brian Newberry after the game. “And to win the [Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy] and that’s part of the evolution of this offense.

“We’re still a work in progress.”

That “work in progress” got the job done on Saturday.

In the other press conference room, the mood was rather different.

Army still has one more game to get to 12 wins on the season, but Saturday’s loss means that on the whole, 2024 is a disappointment.

“It’s been a good season,” said Army Head Coach Jeff Monken. “When you lose this game, there’s nothing great, tremendous, outstanding or stupendous about it. It frankly makes the season a bit of a disappointment, and that’s just the truth of this game and the fact of how big this rivalry is.

“To lose this game sours the season, and maybe I’m just a poor sport, but this is the biggest game of the year, and you can drive up to West Point right now and look around and see the signs on campus, B-e-a-t, and there’s only one name behind it anywhere on campus. It’s the biggest game of the year.”

Monken knows this loss will stick with him for a while.

This game is going to take 365 days to get over and probably a lifetime for me. I still lose sleep over games we’ve lost. I think of the ones we’ve lost way more than the ones we’ve won. I’m just relieved when we win. When we lose, I wake up at night games we lost 10 years ago, I promise you. When you’re a competitor, it stays with you,” added Monken.

“This stinks.”

It sounds cliche to say it, but yes Army-Navy is more than a football game. It is a rivalry steeped in tradition, over a century in the making, and a through line runs from this year’s installment of the game to heroes of the past, including the two units honored by the teams with their uniforms on this day: Army’s tribute to the 101st Airborne Division which proved heroic during the Battle of the Bulge and their defense of Bastogne during World War II, and Navy’s tribute to the Jolly Rogers, the most successful fighter squadron in history.

Then there is the fact that rivals on Saturday will become teammates on a much bigger roster in the weeks and months to come.

As far as football games go, the 125th installment of Army-Navy was something special.

As far as experiences go, it was even better.