2012 Army-Navy game

Yes, Army v Navy needs to be played in the Northeast, in the cold. It's part of the fabric of the game. Although, I would support taking it an active base somewhere around the world or on the flight deck of a carrier.

 

Basketball games are weird enough on flight decks. Can't imagine a football game being played on one.

I like the idea about going to different bases. Would be cool to see Fort Campbell or Fort Knox get in on that action.

 

It's like the ACC tournament: move it around every so often, but Philadelphia is a natural host city.

 

This game is definite bucket list material for me. Every year I swear I'm going to find a way to go.

 

I have probably been to a dozen Army/Navy games in my lifetime. The first one was in the late 1950s. For anyone here who has this on their bucket list, my advice is to focus on crossing it off your bucket list. The atmosphere in the stadium is unlike any other college sporting event I have ever seen.

Oh, by the way, when you go be sure to get to the stadium hours ahead of kickoff so you can watch the Midshipmen and the Cadets march in.

 

This is what I was getting at. Keep it in Philly, but maybe once every 10 years, move it to another site.

San Diego would be a natural, as would somewhere near a large Army base. Maybe in North Carolina or Texas?

 

I went to an Army-Navy game at the Meadowlands when I was 12 or so with my football team. It was a shit game - Army won 6-3, I think - in a helluva torrential downpour, but it was awesome. I've never been to another big-time college football game, so I have no idea how it compares, but it's definitely a cool experience.

 

Jacksonville would be the biggest East Coast Navy town that could make it work. (Sorry Norfolk). Others are better equipped to comment on Army tie-ins, but Nashville (Ft. Campbell) comes to mind, as does El Paso (Ft. Bliss). I think bringing it to the grunts 1-2 times a decade, with provisions made for student travel, is fine. It may also be as close as Army gets to a bowl trip.

 

Army won a bowl game in 2010. Not that long ago.

 

Rich Ellerson at Army has fared OK given the resources he has.

When Navy hired Paul Johnson, the admission standards for football players dipped. A few of those guys have been separated from the Navy or Marine Corps, sometimes involuntarily, Kyle Eckel being one example.

 

I did not attend a service academy but have read a lot about all three and the concensus I've drawn is Army and Navy are superior, and much tougher, than the AFA. I would think that Army will be by far the harder academy to recruit to as long as we are involved in very unpopular desert wars.

I have no stats at my fingertips but I'd bet the farm that far more West Point grads perished in Iraq and Afghanistan than those from the USNA or AFA. You know going into West Point that ground warfare is a possibility and as a parent that would really make me hesitant to send my son or daughter there, even though he/she will receive a top-notch education.