Because at this point the NCAA doesn’t deserve the Army-Navy game. The Bowl Championship Series proved again Sunday night to be an absolute fraudulent process highlighted by selecting Virginia Tech and Michigan for the Sugar Bowl. Really, though, this has been such a bad year for college football that the BCS has been the least of its worries. Just ask any Penn State alum. Who would have thought boosters paying for abortions and strippers for players down in Miami would become a side story by season’s end? I’m not here to put the Army-Navy game on an extreme pedestal– I’m…
Author Mike Hoffman
FSU Thetas fire it up [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hub3CvJ7z3M[/youtube] Folks we have a winner. Best spirit spot of the year goes to the Theta ladies at FSU. Fellow After Action staffer Blair might disagree, but she’s been out voted. Well done ladies. Glad to see so much patriotism down in Tallahassee. Grade A+ Fresh Prince [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjQT-OUZOtI[/youtube] Can’t say I’ve ever seen a spirit spot quite like this one. An Army and Navy guy battle for the phone number of a lady in their version of the Army-Navy game. Fresh Prince gets thrown under the bus and the Navy guy wins the day. Still…
Operation Wide Right [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPGaYV26oC8[/youtube] Like to see leadership getting involved. Not a West Point grad but a proud member of the Marshall Thundering Herd, kudos to Maj. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield, head of U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, for getting involved. Would have preferred video of a helicopter flyover that has happened at previous Army-Navy games. Grade B- Task Force Arctic Wolves [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v78zQFHB29k[/youtube] Bill the goat is outraged. How dare those soldiers take one of his Afghan brothers and don a “Sink Navy” sweater on him. Simple and to the point deployment spot. Wonder how many of the soldiers standing…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j7CnIqIhNk[/youtube] For those of us who groan through what seems like an unending litany of instant replays in college and NFL football games, partial blame falls on the Army-Navy game for the technology’s birth. The first ever use of instant replay occurred at the end of the 1963 broadcast of that year’s Army-Navy game won by Navy 21-15 after Army scored a touchdown. In fact, the technology was so bewildering that it caused many viewers to think Army had scored twice to win the game. Michael Connelly wrote about it in his book The President’s Team: The 1963 Army-Navy Game…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXgmXLhXFBY[/youtube] We’re just kidding, of course. Two high-ranking officers would never, ever bet anything more than a beer over a football game. Right? Here’s Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, head of U.S. Army Europe, and Gen. Mark Welsh, head of U.S. Air Forces Europe, making a made-for-AFN Army-Air Force spirit spot ahead of this Saturday’s game. It’s kitschy and the fake, jovial battle over the football at the end is just painful to watch. We at After Action hate to republish such a spot. We’d much rather see the ones made by cadets or the soldiers and airmen in the field.…
CBS sports executives slid the Army – Air Force game into the national 3:30 p.m. ET time slot after moving the mega LSU – Alabama showdown to prime time. CBS typically saves this time slot for the Southeastern Conference’s game of the week. However, this No. 1 vs No. 2 battle demanded that t.v. execs milk the college football game of the year for every last rating so the game got moved to 8 p.m. The two service academies stand to benefit as the Oct. 1 Air Force-Navy game must have scored strong ratings for CBS. It’s great news for…
Those in Annapolis probably want the losers section to be populated only with zebras, but you won’t find that in After Action’s first ever Winners and Losers. There were plenty of winners and losers in Navy’s unthinkable 18-point comeback that led to Air Force’s overtime victory. If you missed one of the top five service academy football games ever, check out the game stories filed by the two best respective Navy and Air Force football scribes Bill Wagner and Frank Schwab here and here. Everyone loves a winner and to be honest there were more winners than losers in this…
Air Force and Navy’s football rivalry could reach a new level as a result of the ongoing conference shake up — their annual meeting could have conference implications in the Big East race. The Associated Press and ESPN reporter Andy Katz are reporting the Big East is targeting the two service academies to join the conference after Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced they’d leave the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Each would receive a football-only invitation, saving their respective basketball teams the collective embarrassment of playing in the juggernaut hoops conference — not to mention saving the Air Force…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T35e-0OGXY4&feature=player_embedded#![/youtube] This year’s preseason was rough on service academy alums. Thought to be a lock for the Philadelphia Eagles roster, wide receiver Chad Hall, an Air Force Academy alum, was one of the last cuts. Linebacker Caleb Campbell, a standout safety for the Army Black Knights drafted in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL draft, similarly got cut after making the Detroit Lions roster last year. Campbell has found his way back to an NFL roster after the Indianapolis Colts signed the linebacker to their practice squad Tuesday. Campbell has a chance to make the active roster unless the…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo-VYfz9P74[/youtube] It looks like the execs at Nike headquarters didn’t take well to Maryland and Under Armor getting so much national exposure for the over-the-top uniforms worn by the Terrapins on Labor Day. On Tuesday, Nike released the uniforms that Army and Navy will be wearing for their annual December matchup as part of the unveil of the Nike Pro Combat jersey. Why Nike decided to unveil the uniforms four months before the game is beyond us. Maryland went to the lengths of warming up in one jersey before changing and then taking the field in those garish stunning state flag…
