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Gridiron Glory: The Story of the Army-Navy Football Rivalry
Consistently ranked among the top ten college football rivalries by fans and pundits alike-and often ranked among the top five-the annual Army-Navy game is the one rivalry that, as one commentator has noted, "stops the most powerful men and women in the world in their tracks for one day a year." It is also quite possible that it is the only rivalry to raise over $58 million in war bonds (1944 game), have an outcome so contentious that the game had to be suspended for six years by the President (1893), or be played in the Rose Bowl (1983), requiring a military "airlift" of nine thousand cadets and midshipmen to California.
But Army-Navy is first and foremost about football, and as Barry Wilner and Ken Rappoport relate in this engaging history, it may be college football in its purest form-and not just as a "training ground for the NFL." Though struggling for national ranking, the service academies have done surprisingly well over the years given their recruiting handicap, producing five Heisman Trophy winners and a number of national champions. The rivalry's most successful player may have been Roger Staubach, Heisman winner and Hall of Fame quarterback, who led the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowls in the 1970s following his four-year mandatory service in the U.S. Navy.
The Army-Navy rivalry is also about traditions, and in a concluding chapter on the 2004 game, the authors take us through the pageantry: the march into the stadium by the student bodies of both schools; freshman push-ups after each score; and the final, moving show of sportsmanship following the game as thousands of cadets and midshipmen stand at attention while the alma mater of each school is played by their respective bands. A rivalry like no other, Army versus Navy receives due recognition in this colorful, thorough history.
But Army-Navy is first and foremost about football, and as Barry Wilner and Ken Rappoport relate in this engaging history, it may be college football in its purest form-and not just as a "training ground for the NFL." Though struggling for national ranking, the service academies have done surprisingly well over the years given their recruiting handicap, producing five Heisman Trophy winners and a number of national champions. The rivalry's most successful player may have been Roger Staubach, Heisman winner and Hall of Fame quarterback, who led the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowls in the 1970s following his four-year mandatory service in the U.S. Navy.
The Army-Navy rivalry is also about traditions, and in a concluding chapter on the 2004 game, the authors take us through the pageantry: the march into the stadium by the student bodies of both schools; freshman push-ups after each score; and the final, moving show of sportsmanship following the game as thousands of cadets and midshipmen stand at attention while the alma mater of each school is played by their respective bands. A rivalry like no other, Army versus Navy receives due recognition in this colorful, thorough history.
- GenresFootball
240 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2005
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 7, 2012
It's nearly impossible to write an effective book on over 100+ years of tradition. Barry Wilner, an experienced sports writer, takes on the greatest rivalry in sports and does it perfectly. Gridiron Glory takes us on a historical football journey that teaches us about basically the evolution of college football. From the forward pass, to the first wide receiver, to how historical events effected the nation and the college football landscape, Wilner takes a traditional yearly game and shows why its so much more than just about football.
This book does a great job of storytelling and showing how the high standards of the military academies effect college football and the game itself. No rivalries in all of sports is as competitive no matter the records of either Navy or Army. Army may come into the game 9-0 and Navy 1-8, but when the game starts all records are put aside for the battle that ensues.
So well written and it flows easily and is must for any college football fan.
The modern-day athlete is self-centered and self-absorbed, usually concern about his highlight film and draft position. As a former Navy player said it best regarding the rivalry and honor it is to play in this game, "This year three guys (who played for Navy) gave the ultimate sacrifice, gave their lives. Football is a great thing to do, and we have so much fun. But after our last game, we know there's something bigger we're going into."
This book does a great job of storytelling and showing how the high standards of the military academies effect college football and the game itself. No rivalries in all of sports is as competitive no matter the records of either Navy or Army. Army may come into the game 9-0 and Navy 1-8, but when the game starts all records are put aside for the battle that ensues.
So well written and it flows easily and is must for any college football fan.
The modern-day athlete is self-centered and self-absorbed, usually concern about his highlight film and draft position. As a former Navy player said it best regarding the rivalry and honor it is to play in this game, "This year three guys (who played for Navy) gave the ultimate sacrifice, gave their lives. Football is a great thing to do, and we have so much fun. But after our last game, we know there's something bigger we're going into."
Displaying 1 of 1 review