Into the Fire

Week Twelve:
Navy vs. Army

The first thing they ask is did you play football? The next thing they say is did you beat Navy? It's not a game: It's a tradition.

The greatest rivalry in all of sports.

The sports pages and the airwaves burst with superlatives as Army-Navy week builds to a feverish pitch.
Photos from Iraq, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf appear of “GO ARMY – BEAT NAVY” banners hung from Saddam’s palaces, and “BEAT ARMY” spelled out by Sailors across the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. One gets the sense that the entire nation—and much of the rest of the civilized world—is taking sides as this epic battle once again takes the world stage.
Of course, that’s not the case, but you wouldn’t know it if you lived within radio transmission distance of Annapolis, or West Point. And even though there are other famous rivalries in college football, this one is unique. Case in point: At the end of their very first day at the Academy, the Plebes sing, for the first time, their new Alma Mater, “Navy Blue and Gold.” They will sing it at the end of every day of Plebe Summer, and countless times throughout their Academy and Navy careers. From the very first night, they end the song--as they will virtually every time they sing it for the rest of their lives—by thrusting their fists in the air and shouting, “BEAT ARMY!”
At Navy, there is one slogan that is consistent for all sports, one sentiment that permeates all aspects of Naval Academy life, one accomplishment that can redeem an otherwise disappointing season, one goal that unites all current Midshipmen with all former Midshipmen throughout all generations: BEAT ARMY.

Sitting proudly in the entrance to Memorial Hall on the Naval Academy campus since 2003 is the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy. Awarded every year to the service academy football team with the best record against the other service academies, Navy had dominated the service academy rivalry for the previous four years. With a win over Army, Navy would come within one win of tying Air Force for the most consecutive wins over both other service academies. And the senior class would graduate never having lost a game to another service academy.
Not that any of that really mattered.
In this rivalry, there’s only one game that counts: this year’s Army-Navy game.

Be strong and courageous
Joshua 1-2

One of the big mistakes people often seem to make when they read the Bible, is that they assume that it’s about these special, unique people that worked with God to make all these amazing things happen. If that’s the way you understand the Bible, then it’s a natural step to conclude, “but there’s nothing special or amazing about me, and I’ve never talked to God, so I don’t see how any of it is relevant to me.”
Maybe that’s the way some of you look at it.
But I don’t think that's correct.
If you take the time to read the stories, you’ll see very quickly that it is not amazing, special, superhuman people that God calls. Rather, it’s regular people that God comes to, and God asks them to do something special. God asks them to do something, and they say, simply, “Okay. Here I am. Send me.” And with that simple agreement, they are on their way to doing amazing things. It is not amazing people who are the heroes of the Bible; it is normal people, who simply say “okay” to God’s call, and who are then empowered to do amazing things.
When you think about it, our country is built on the same principle. It’s not that we’re a nation of superheroes that makes us what we are. Rather, we’re a nation of common people, who step up to do uncommon things. It’s been that way throughout our history, from the very beginning.
Each of you has taken that same step, made that same declaration: Here I am. Send me.

Do you ever wonder why the Army-Navy game is so huge? What is it about this game that seems to capture the national attention year after year?

I think it’s this: the people of our country—not just football or sports fans, but many, many people—deep down in our national consciousness, sense that something more than a football game is going on when these two teams take the field against each other. When they look at you, they see not just football players, but they see the young men—and by extension the young women, as well—who represent our country’s hopes and dreams, and the best aspects of our national character: courage, honor, commitment, sacrifice, service. These are qualities that are talked about a lot, but the truth is that they are in seriously short supply in practice, in real life. But they see them in you. And it restores their hope that these things that we talk about as America’s ideals are more than just words. They really exist.
People see how hard you play, how hard you try to win, regardless of the limitations that are placed upon you as Division One football programs, and they’re impressed. But then they see the way that, as soon as the clock runs out and the game is over, you honor and respect each other. There is not some perfunctory shaking of hands and exchanging of high fives after this game; there are hugs, tears, congratulations and condolences that are real and deep and heartfelt. You know how much you want to win this game; so you know how badly it feels to lose it. As soon as the game is over, you are one team. You stand and sing each others’ Alma Maters with true respect, because you know that as soon as you leave this field, the next time you meet each other may well be on the battlefield, fighting side by side.
I think the country sees that. And they are in awe.
You are part of a brotherhood. The brotherhood isn’t based upon the football uniforms you wear, but upon the flag on the military uniforms you wear. The brotherhood includes the very guys you’ll play against today, and who you will join in the field in a few short months.
One of the most powerful symbols of the brotherhood and sisterhood of military service--something we all share, no matter what form our service takes, is the dog tag. I remember when I got my first set of dog tags, feeling that as of that moment, I was “in.” I was a part of it all. My service was real.
At each of your places, there’s a dog tag. On one side of the tag is the emblem of the Naval Academy reminding you of where you started. On the other side, is a verse from the Bible, from the book of Joshua in the Hebrew Scriptures, that says, “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”