The Tradition of Navy vs. Air Force Football

Tailgating with our friend, Mike
Schultz, who is an AFA grad.

The US Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy have squared off in football for many years and this is the 42nd year that the Commander in Chief Trophy was up for grabs.  Navy currently has the trophy residing at the Academy in Annapolis, MD. 

Every home game for Navy is the potential for old shipmates to get together and reminisce of past football match ups as well as catch up on what everyone has been doing, whether it has been a week or 10 years. Most important though is the time to tailgate and enjoy watching the current classes of Midshipmen parade down the street and into the stadium. 



Just grabbing a screwdriver before
the game.

My husband's class, USNA 1985 puts on the best tailgater every week I have ever seen.  They almost always have a live band, a submarine shaped smoker for meats and a few goats! The class always has the movable mixtures drink trailer complete with flat screen televisions so no one ever misses a college game. 






Mids marching in through the
tunnel to the field.
 

The Navy - Air Force game this year was a beautiful day, sun was shining and the temperature reached into the 80's by the 11:30 am kick off.  Despite the beginning of the week and the government shut down the game went off as planned.

A huge thanks to USAA for flying the Air Force team to the game and for keeping this tradition going.  Navy was favored to win and despite a slow start, they did win, and by the largest margin of victory ever 28-10. 

Below is Navy running out on the field, like I said it was a beautiful day.  Everything was perfect, except no fly overs.  That little tradition was halted earlier in the year because of government sequester and with the government in full closure over the debt ceiling/obamacare and finding a middle ground with the house and senate, it sure wasn't going to happen on this day either.

 

 Nonetheless when it was all said and done the service academy traditions live on and this is one of the best.  I have posted the Midshipmen singing the Navy Blue and Gold song from the annual Army-Navy game but never this one.  Here Air Force sang their song first, then Navy and all the former midshipmen sang theirs at the end of the game.  A beautiful way to end a beautiful afternoon in Annapolis, MD.