Army and Navy will play their historic rivalry game — known as college football’s most legendary rivalry — on Dec. 9 at Gillette Stadium for the first time in its series history that spans over a century.
It’s more than just a game, though. Between the pre and postgame traditions that take place, it will be a game. that fans won’t want to miss a minute of.
On the latest episode of “Eye On Foxborough,” Bob Socci, Patriots play-by-play voice for 98.5 The Sports Hub and former Army-Navy broadcaster, joined MassLive Patriots columnist Karen Guregian and provided a glimpse of the historic game.
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“Army-Navy, in my mind, is in a different dimension than every other great rivalry: Ohio State-Michigan, USC-UCLA, Clemson-South Carolina,” Socci, who called the Army-Navy game for several years, said. “The mutual respect and the mutual mission, the calling that the cadets and midshipmen have as fierce rivals. And it’s from Day 1 in their experiences at the respective academies. You go to Navy and as a player, you go through this six-week process in the summer, they break you down to build you back up and start that training process to be an officer in the Navy or Marine Corps. It’s the same deal at West Point in the US Army. It’s ‘Yes sir. No, sir. Beat Army sir.’ Or, ‘Yes sir. No, sir. beat Navy, sir.’ Those are the only acceptable answers as an incoming freshman at those academies for those first couple of months.
“… And it really does have special meaning. You get the sense of that when you’re in the stadium particularly when you watch and listen and feel the two schools sing their alma maters after the game,” he continued. “… And that really, I think, is where the emotion swells up. But you get there early and that’s I would say: If you’re gonna go to the game, get inside the stadium. If you’re thinking about tailgating longer and missing the march-ons, don’t do it. Be inside the stadium for the march-on of the midshipmen and the cadets.”
The Patriots also have ties to the Naval Academy. Longsnapper Joe Cardona is a Lieutenant in the Naval Reserve, while Bill Belichick’s father, Steve, was a revered scout and assistant coach at Navy.
Kickoff for Army-Navy from Gillette Stadium is set for Dec. 9 at 3 p.m. EST. The march-ons are set to begin at Noon.
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