GO NAVY BEAT ARMY, 38-3

Okay, the game's over, the crowd's have long left the stadium but the cheers and jeers will continue... at least until next year. Navy 38, Army 3. Of course, it's all in good fun because truth be told, some of these young men will work alongside their opponents in the future, especially as more joint operations come into existence. This is a good thing for us since we're our own "Joint Operations."

Hubby went to West Point through his first 2 years in the late 80s and has been in the Army since graduating from Auburn so he's an easy target for 2 annual football traditions: the Army-Navy game and the Alabama-Auburn game. I was raised in Texas, where football rules (although basketball and baseball are also very big in the metro areas). I'm also prior-enlisted, having taken the long route to finish my undergraduate and graduate studies. Therefore, since I'm not an Academy ring-knocker, the annual Army-Navy game really didn't take note until December 2001, one year after we met.

We flew down south to visit Hubby's family on the weekend of the game. While we sat peacefully in his parents' living room, eye glued to the boob tube, I noted that hey, he's not sitting by me and hey, he's not even holding my hand today! Thus the school rivalry extended into our relationship for one single day of the year. I'm proud to say that I did get him to hold my hand one year, 2003... I made certain that our wedding day was the same day as the game. (The only folks who didn't make our wedding were either already deployed or blocked by the 8 inches of snow that fell overnight.) In fact, after all the guests had gone home or to their hotels, we sat in our wedding garb finally eating our supper in the Army Navy Club bar in Washington, DC and watched as Hubby's beloved Black Knights lost to the Navy Mids.

In honor of the game, here are specific fond memories from the last few years...

• 2001: Cheering "GO NAVY BEAT ARMY" with each touchdown or field goal at the future in-laws house... yes, I risked sleeping on the back porch but it was worth it!


• 2003: Getting my bridesmaids to post a "GO NAVY" sign on Hubby's back on the way to the reception, just before we went through the traditional sabre arch.


• Filming a TV spot on the Kitty Hawk flight deck in 2005: I was the only female out on that frigid morning and they asked me to toss a football out to the camera for our spot. How cool is that? We took about 5 takes and in 1 of them, I actually hit the camera with the football (great aim!). I heard this spot was shown in the pre-games.

Since I love the Annapolis area, I hope our children will consider the Naval Academy over West Point should military service be an option. However, I don't think that will be an easy argument to win with Hubby...West Point really holds a special place in his heart.