July 15, 2008

Welcome to the BnL Army-Navy game in Boise!

There are some traditions that are better left untouched by the hands Wall Street. The annual Army-Navy college football game is one of them, but... they may mess with it anyway.

Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk told the academy’s Board of Visitors on July 8 that a bidding process among cities for future Army-Navy games would begin within weeks. He also said the academy is open to corporate sponsorship of the game.

The game has been played in Philadelphia for most of its 118-year history, but has occasionally been played in Annapolis, Md., at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and at cities in between the two campuses. In 1983, it was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

The bidding process announced by Gladchuck could mean Army-Navy games could be played in any part of the country.

"I have no doubt there will 15, 16, 17 cities that will put their oar in the water and actually bid for the game," Gladchuck said. "It could be San Diego, it could be Seattle, it could be the Meadowlands [in East Rutherford, N.J.]. Baltimore has shown interest; it could be Philadelphia or Dallas."

I'm certain that Gladchuk is right: There are probably 20+ cities that would bend over backwards to welcome Army-Navy. There are at least 20+ companies that would jump at the chance to slap their name on the rivalry.

BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT A GOOD IDEA TO SELL IT.

(Lemme pause right here and give a shout out to the good folks at Budweiser, btw.)

It's bad enough that we have the AT&T Red Rivalry Showdown for Texas-OU. At least leave us with the dignity, tradition, and CLASS that the annual Army-Navy game represents.

Or don't. Just go ahead and slap NASCAR patches on everyone's uniform like they do in NFL Europe and get it over with already.

Comments:

Welcome to the BnL Army-Navy game in Boise!
There are some traditions that are better left untouched by the hands Wall Street. The annual Army-Navy college football game is one of them, but... they may mess with it anyway.
Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk told the academy’s Board of Visitors on July 8 that a bidding process among cities for future Army-Navy games would begin within weeks. He also said the academy is open to corporate sponsorship of the game. The game has been played in Philadelphia for most of its 118-year history, but has occasionally been played in Annapolis, Md., at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and at cities in between the two campuses. In 1983, it was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The bidding process announced by Gladchuck could mean Army-Navy games could be played in any part of the country. "I have no doubt there will 15, 16, 17 cities that will put their oar in the water and actually bid for the game," Gladchuck said. "It could be San Diego, it could be Seattle, it could be the Meadowlands [in East Rutherford, N.J.]. Baltimore has shown interest; it could be Philadelphia or Dallas."
I'm certain that Gladchuk is right: There are probably 20+ cities that would bend over backwards to welcome Army-Navy. There are at least 20+ companies that would jump at the chance to slap their name on the rivalry. BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT A GOOD IDEA TO SELL IT. (Lemme pause right here and give a shout out to the good folks at Budweiser, btw.) It's bad enough that we have the AT&T Red Rivalry Showdown for Texas-OU. At least leave us with the dignity, tradition, and CLASS that the annual Army-Navy game represents. Or don't. Just go ahead and slap NASCAR patches on everyone's uniform like they do in NFL Europe and get it over with already.