Go Army!!! Beat Navy!!!

As these guys prepare for their epic nerf battle, they want to make one thing clear...Go Army!  Beat Navy!

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a brief history about the Army-Navy Game from Wikipedia...

"The Army–Navy Game, commencing in 1890, has been held at several locations throughout its history, but has most frequently been played in Philadelphia, roughly equidistant from the two academies. Historically played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the game is now played on the second Saturday in December and is traditionally the last game of the season for both teams and, until the recent advent of conference championship games, it was the last regular-season game played in Division I-A football. With the permanent expansion of the regular season to 12 games starting in 2006, many regular-season games join the Army–Navy Game on the same weekend. In 2009, the game was moved from the first Saturday in December to the second Saturday; this means that it will no longer conflict with conference championship games and once again is the last regular-season contest in college football.^[5]

This game has inter-service "bragging rights" at stake; in past decades, when both Army and Navy were often national powers, the game occasionally had national championship implications. However, as the level of play in college football improved nationally, and became fueled by prospects of playing in the National Football League (NFL), the high academic entrance requirements, height and weight limits, and the military commitment required has reduced the overall competitiveness of both academies. Since 1963, only the 1996 and 2010 games have seen both teams enter with winning records.

The tradition of the game has ensured that it remains nationally televised to this day. Arguably, one of the great appeals of this game to many fans is that since few, if any, of the participants will ever play in the NFL, they are playing solely for the love of the game. Due to commitments to serve in their respective branches of the armed services after graduation, many players are simply deemed too old to even consider playing competitively again, much less in the professional ranks. Many have other post-service ambitions that would preclude such a career, or they simply do not want to pursue one. Nevertheless, some participants in the Army-Navy Game have gone on to professional football careers. Quarterback Roger Staubach (Navy, 1965) went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys that included being named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl VI. Wide receiver and kickoff/punt returner Phil McConkey (Navy, 1979) was a popular player on the New York Giants'squad that won Super Bowl XXI. Running back Napoleon McCallum (Navy, 1985) was able to concurrently serve his commitment to the Navy and play for the then-Los Angeles Raiders. After satisfying his Navy commitment, he joined the Raiders full time. Sadly, his career was ended by a gruesome knee injury suffered in a game against the San Francisco 49ers in 1994.

The game is especially emotional for the seniors, called "first classmen" by both academies, since it is typically the last competitive football game they will ever play (the games in 1996 and 2010 were aberrations, as both Army and Navy went to bowl games afterwards, and Navy has played in a bowl game in each season since 2003). During wartime the game is even more emotional, as some seniors will not return once they are deployed. For instance, in the 2004 game, at least one senior from the class of 2003 who was killed in Iraq, Navy's J. P. Blecksmith, was remembered. The players placed their comrade's pads and jerseys on chairs on the sidelines. Much of the sentiment of the game goes out to those who share the uniform and who are overseas.

At the end of the game, the alma maters of the losing team and then the winning team are played and sung. The winning team stands alongside the losing team and faces the losing academy students; then the losing team accompanies the winning team, facing their students. This is done in a show of mutual respect and solidarity.

The rivalry between Annapolis and West Point, while friendly, is intense. Even the mascots (the Navy Goat and Army Mule) have been known to play pranks on each other. The Cadets live and breathe the phrase "Beat Navy", while Midshipmen have the opposite phrase, "Beat Army", dinned into them (even the weight plates in the Navy weight room are stamped with "Beat Army"). They have become a symbol of competitiveness, not just in the Army–Navy Game, but in the service of their country, and are often used at the close of (informal) letters by graduates of both academies.

Occasionally, the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, awarded to each season's winner of the triangular series between Army, Navy, and Air Force, will be at stake in this game. For most of the 1970s, Navy had held the trophy. After a period of flux for most of the 1980s, Air Force dominated the competition until the early 2000s. Navy has been the dominant team in the rivalry for most of the 2000s, winning every game in the triangular rivalry starting with the 2002 Army–Navy Game and ending with a 2010 loss to Air Force. If there is a tie in the Commander-In-Chief Trophy competition, the trophy remains with the incumbent team.

The rivalries Army and Navy have with the Air Force Academy are much less intense than the Army-Navy rivalry, primarily due to the relative youth of the Air Force Academy and the physical distance between Air Force and the other two schools, with Air Force Academy being located in Colorado Springs. The Army-Air Force and Navy-Air Force games are played at the academies' regular home fields, rather than at a neutral site, although Navy has occasionally moved its home games with Air Force to FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland."