On Brave Old Army Team

The Black Knights from Army, wearing white uniforms in a snow storm (they were hard to see), made it a “twofer” by beating the Navy midshipmen for the second year in a row — final score 14-13.

The annual game, the longest continuous rivalry in football, was played this year in Philadelphia on Saturday, December 9. The temperature was in the 20s, which made it hard for those watching the game at the stadium. However, the 50-plus PVE residents who met in the Club to watch the game were much warmer.

There were lots of Navy and Army decorations and betting was fierce in the football pool. During the game, fans were able to enjoy a great tailgate buffet that included BBQ chicken, pulled pork sandwiches and hotdogs with sides of salad, nachos, garlic fries and potato salad.

There was lots of slippin’ and slidin’ on the football field as the snow continued to fall throughout the game. When it was over, resident fans stood for the traditional playing of the Navy and Army alma maters.

Since Army won the game, Bruce Bartels presented Patty McNamara (a staunch Army fan) with his old Army bathrobe. The tradition is for Army cadets to bet on the game against the Navy Midshipmen during their exchange weekends at each other’s campuses. The winner gets a bathrobe from the loser. Bruce won the Army bathrobe in 1957 when Navy beat Army 14-0. It seemed only fair to return it to an Army person since they won this year. Keep an eye out for Patty on Halloween. You might see that old bathrobe make an appearance!