http://militarytimes.com/blogs/armynavy/2008/12/06/blowouts-hurting-rivalry/ The 2011 Army/Navy game Saturday, December 10th at Lincoln Financial Field Sat, 09 Jan 2010 20:14:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://militarytimes.com/blogs/armynavy/2008/12/06/blowouts-hurting-rivalry/comment-page-1/#comment-13 Sports analyst Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:34:09 +0000 http://militarytimes.com/blogs/armynavy/?p=109#comment-13 I don't understand -- the kids at both military academies learn to hate each other from the first day they step onto the campus. They want the games to be lop-sided. A crushing Navy victory, as was the case with this game, rewards the fanaticism built into the kids from plebe year on. A crushing Army defeat only redoubles the super-zealotry at West Point. And, in a few years, when Army restores its gridiron dominance, the reverse will be true. The game is most useful to Annapolis and West Point because it teaches the pure, un-distilled warrior hate that soldiers and sailors need to forget everything else but destroying their enemies. The Army needs its occasional Kasserine Passes and the Navy needs its occasional Java Seas so they can learn, adapt, regroup and attack again. Normal college athletes are mercenaries, and if the Bama offensive line happens to also hate the Auburn defenders, that's just a convenient plus. I don’t understand — the kids at both military academies learn to hate each other from the first day they step onto the campus. They want the games to be lop-sided. A crushing Navy victory, as was the case with this game, rewards the fanaticism built into the kids from plebe year on. A crushing Army defeat only redoubles the super-zealotry at West Point. And, in a few years, when Army restores its gridiron dominance, the reverse will be true. The game is most useful to Annapolis and West Point because it teaches the pure, un-distilled warrior hate that soldiers and sailors need to forget everything else but destroying their enemies. The Army needs its occasional Kasserine Passes and the Navy needs its occasional Java Seas so they can learn, adapt, regroup and attack again. Normal college athletes are mercenaries, and if the Bama offensive line happens to also hate the Auburn defenders, that’s just a convenient plus.

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