Army-Navy: Inspiration around globe

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Typically this column talks about the intersection of faith with contemporary life, but for many of us who have served, Navy football — and its annual game against Army in particular — is a spiritual experience.

The first time I saw the game live, I sat with more than 100,000 other fans in John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia on a bitterly cold December day in 1973. Navy won 51-0, which seemed just about right to me. I was in the stands again the next four years, but in a midshipman's uniform, and Navy won three of them.

I've listened to Navy beat Army at 3 o'clock in the morning in the middle of the Pacific Ocean — and listened again to the rebroadcast later that day. I've seen Navy beat Army at three different stadiums in Philly and at the Rose Bowl. Today, of course, I’ll watch at M&T Bank Stadium, where I expect a Midshipmen victory.

For academy faithful, this is not just a game. It is the only game.

At a time when major college football programs serve as farm teams for the NFL, this game will be played with more intensity than all the rest. The cadets and midshipmen on the field today won't be playing to impress scouts. They will be playing their hearts out because they know that all around the world tens of thousands of their fellow service members will be watching or listening. In the deserts of Iraq, the mountains of Afghanistan, on ships in the Persian Gulf — the men and women who guard our nation's freedom will tune in for a few hours to see the only game that really matters to them: Army vs. Navy.

As a veteran of lots of Army-Navy games, let me give you some viewing tips:

>> Tune in for the pre-game show. Besides the pageantry, you will see lots of good-natured teasing. One year, Navy brought a limo onto the field, flying the flags of an important military VIP. The midshipmen cleverly got the Army cadets to come to attention. When the doors opened, the Navy mascot — a goat — emerged. If you live near the stadium, watch the Navy F-18s do their fly-over just before kick-off.

>> Enjoy the game itself. There should be plenty of scoring since Navy has one of the most productive offenses in the nation and is bound for its fifth straight bowl game — the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 20.

>> When the game ends, don't tune out. When the players from both teams join together for the singing of their Alma Maters, you surely will see what makes this game so special. Tears sometime trickle down the faces of these young athletes, especially the seniors. They know the next time they meet, they will be on a very different field, playing for the same team. Nearly all of Army's seniors will see action in Iraq or Afghanistan within a year or two of their graduation. Many of Navy's seniors have selected service in the Marine Corps and will all too soon be fighting side by side with their football rivals.

Why is this game so different? Because the players know it is just a game — and that other battles, which matter so much more, will need to be fought and won.

Kevin McGhee is a senior pastor at Bethany Community Church and a 1978 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He can be reached at kmcghee@baltimoreexaminer.com.