On a human level, it’s only natural to feel some measure of sympathy for Army after losing to Navy for the last 12 years. Anyone that has ever attempted anything worthwhile has at some point failed to do so and can relate to how that feels. We know the emotion of the game and see images like an inconsolable Trent Steelman last year and can’t helped but be moved. That’s the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, and it’s why people watch sports. However, while I understand Army’s frustration, I’m not sure why I should care about it.
Army Announces Football Coaching Change
Well, the dark deed is done.
There was a lot of excitement around the Army program when Ellerson was first hired. He was hailed as a defensive innovator and the coach who would bring a “true” option offense back to West Point, and both were true. He made immediate progress, too, leading Army to a bowl win in only his second season. It was all downhill from there, though, as it took Army 3 seasons combined to surpass their win total from the high water mark in 2010.
Firing the coach is the easy part. Now comes the job of finding his replacement. Sal Interdonato offered up the usual suspects:
I don’t know if these guys are really on the list or if this is just the usual “find a grad or past assistant” guesswork. No matter who Army hires, though, there are so many questions to be answered. Is this just one change of many ahead for Army? Will they still run an option offense? It’s going to be an interesting week ahead.
Postgame Haiku, Vol. 73
O glorious day
Not rain nor snow nor Army
Stops this Navy team
ARMY WEEK: THE GAME
Does Rich Ellerson’s job hang in the balance on Saturday?
Navy-Notre Dame headed for Jacksonville?
A couple of tweets of interest:
Florida-Georgia is usually played on or near the last weekend of October. It just so happens that the Navy-Notre Dame game that still needs a home in 2016 is scheduled for the first weekend of November that year. Navy-Notre Dame was the only game specifically mentioned by Gator Bowl officials during their presentation to the Jacksonville city council on EverBank Field’s renovation and new scoreboards last month. The Gator Bowl Committee has targeted Navy for a neutral site game in Jacksonville for years, attempting to arrange games against both Notre Dame and Florida State. Is the plan finally coming together?
ARMY WEEK: LET’S TALK UNIFORMS
I assume that by now you’ve all seen what Navy will be wearing at Saturday’s Army-Navy game. If not, then point your face at these glorious images and bask in their warm glow of excellence.
These are the home version of last year’s equally fantastic Nike uniforms, and I sort of wish that this was our permanent setup. It’s modern, yet still restrained, and undeniably Navy. I know some of you don’t like the look, and it’s understandable. You can’t be blamed for your horrible taste. What one could be blamed for, however, is saying that you don’t want something new because of “tradition.” Navy’s only uniform tradition is one of constant change. Sometimes it’s evolutionary, sometimes it’s revolutionary, but it’s always changing. The uniform that Navy wears now is different from the one from ten years ago, which was different from the one from ten years before that. Designs have changed, colors have changed, helmets have changed. We’ve seen all manner of combinations of blue, gold, and white between shirts and pants, complete with various stripes and shoulder hoops and patches and whatever else you can think of. Then there’s the helmets, which have had anchors (awesome, awesome anchors), numbers, and stripes at times over the years. And all that is before you factor in what Navy has worn for the Army-Navy game, which has had all kinds of bonkers stuff. And that’s Navy’s uniform tradition: to have fun with them. Despite what the “down in front” sourpuss that sits behind you at NMCMS and leaves at halftime says, football should be fun.
When people say “tradition,” what they’re really saying is that they want Navy to be plain. That’s fine if that’s your taste, but it’s not the same as tradition. Did Navy fans of the ’40s complain that uniforms didn’t look like this anymore? I don’t know, but if they did I’m glad that nobody listened to them. Navy isn’t Alabama or Penn State, where the traditional football uniform is part of the brand image of the program (and the school for that matter). Navy’s brand is defined by other things. That doesn’t mean that any change is great simply because it’s new; there’s a certain classiness that we want to convey, and nobody wants to look at a jumbled mess. But if something sharp comes along that helps showcase the Navy team, I say go for it. If you don’t like it, don’t worry. It’ll probably change in a few years anyway.
(Seriously, though. Anchors.)
ARMY WEEK: WHAT’S WRONG WITH ARMY?
You didn’t think I was going to sit this one out, did you?
WESTERN KENTUCKY 19, NAVY 7
You know, somewhere there’s a Navy fan that had a wedding or something to go to on Saturday, so he could only catch the beginning of the game. After watching a Navy touchdown drive and two Western Kentucky three & outs, he probably walked out the door thinking “we got this” and didn’t give the game a second thought the rest of the night. When he looked at the box score the next morning, he discovered that in the 9 minutes he watched of that game, he saw 1/3 of Navy’s total offensive production. I don’t know if he’s lucky to have missed that debacle, or unlucky to experience the shock the next day.
Either way, we all get to relive it now!
FINALLY
Screw you, DOD, for even bringing us to this point. Screw you right in the face.
I assume this only applies to the Air Force game and that the Duke game is still up in the air, but hopefully we’ll get word on that soon. For now let’s just beat the crap out of Air Force and figure out if there’s a way to blame Troy Calhoun for all of this.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF NAVY FOOTBALL AND GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS
The government’s fiscal year begins on October 1 every year, which means that any government shutdown caused by the inability to pass a budget will probably happen during football season. In the past, that didn’t make much of a difference to Navy football:
1976
The federal government was in partial shutdown from September 30-October 11.
10/02/76 – Navy played Boston College in Annapolis
10/09/76 – Navy played Air Force in Colorado Springs
1977
The federal government was in partial shutdown three times; from September 30-October 13, October 31-November 9, November 30-December 9.
10/01/77 – Navy played Duke in Durham
10/08/77 – Navy played Air Force in Annapolis
11/05/77 – Navy played Syracuse in Annapolis
1978
The federal government was in partial shutdown from September 30-October 18.
9/30/78 – Navy played Boston College at BC
10/07/78 – Navy played Air Force in Colorado Springs
10/14/78 – Navy played Duke in Annapolis
1979
The federal government was shut down from September 30-October 12.
10/06/79 – Navy played Air Force in Annapolis
1982
The federal government was shut down from September 30-October 2.
10/02/82 – Navy played Duke in Durham
1983
The federal government was shut down from November 10-14.
11/12/83 – Navy played South Carolina in Columbia
1986
The federal government was shut down from October 16-18.
10/18/86 – Navy played Penn in Annapolis
1990
The federal government was shut down from October 5-9.
10/06/90 – Navy played Air Force in Colorado Springs
1995
The federal government was shut down from November 13-19.
11/18/95 – Navy played Tulane in Annapolis
To be fair, not every government shutdown is the same. Regardless of the nature of the shutdown, though, Navy football was never forced to cancel a game. Contrary to some reports you might have read, Navy’s athletic department isn’t government-operated. There is no reason that the Navy-Air Force game should be cancelled this weekend. The order by the Department of Defense to cancel service academy athletic competitions is strictly a PR move.
The Birddog 