The 125th edition of the Army Navy football game was a spectacle that rivaled almost any college football game in recent memory.
The game itself was the subplot to the things that surrounded the play on the field. The Army Navy match up has always been about more than just football. Year after year people sit and watch the nationally televised game looking to see the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the aura of the game. From the National Anthem to the cadets in the stands, every moment makes you glad to be an American.
This year Navy won the game, 31-13 in an upset. Quarterback Blake Horvath passed for two touchdowns and also ran for two more as the dual threat QB took center stage on the field. Navy will now face Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl, and Army was slated to play in the Independence Bowl, but recent opt outs forced Marshall to drop out, a new team has yet to be decided.
Those are fine story lines for a sports column, but why this game would make national news, and national waves, was because of what was taking place off the field, or better yet, who.
President elect Donald Trump was in attendance at Northwest Stadium in Landover, but he was not alone. As it has become the norm with Trump he now travels with the elite of the elite. Joining the president in his suite was Vice President-elect JD Vance; Speaker of the House Mike Johnson; incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the world's richest man Elon Musk, nominee for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Daniel Penny, the hero who was recently acquitted of charges in the subway situation.
The crowd cheered and at times chanted in unison up towards the star studded luxury suite. But, this was not star studded like, say, the Chiefs suite that has Taylor Swift and other celebs, instead this box was being cheered at by our nations soon to be fighting men and women. The excitement they showed gives a good litmus of how the military looks at our next president and the stadium vibe was one of anticipation and dare I say 'joy'.