United As One

 And so my regular season has come to an end once again with only a glimmer of hope on the horizon for attending a bowl or playoff game this postseason. If this is the end of the road, what better way than to conclude the season by attending the annual Army Navy game in its rightful home of Philadelphia, PA. This was my first time back since 2018 after making seven of the previous nine games. It was not the usual large tailgate run by Ray Carlucci and the Jersey Boys of Cliffside Park. Nonetheless, we made up for those who were missing this year with added enthusiasm, a fighting spirit … and a few extra libations.

DFT Banner once more at Army Navy

Friday night we darkened the doorstep of Moriarty's Irish pub in downtown Philly. They serve wings that are so large they must be from a pterodactyl and are consistently voted best chicken wings in town. On Saturday at 0900 hours, our tailgate consisted of my brother Brian, aka Mr. Struggles, and his wife Lor Scoot along with Lagarius and Michelle Buckley. We had drop-ins from a number of friends throughout the day and linked up with the tailgate right next to ours. The pregame menu consisted of apple cider mimosas, grilled breakfast sandwiches, potatoes and an assortment of foods too healthy for me. The post-game tailgate featured Brian’s signature old bay chicken wings accompanied by a few cold natty bo’s. The weather was sunny and crisp, which is perfect football weather IMHO. 

Clockwise top starting top left: The Buckleys, the brothers Donnelly and the field of battle

Starting clockwise from top left: Buck and Jake Oxendine, Billy Chakwin, Naval Al doing a flag folding ceremony with me and KP Augustine.

Sister in Law Lor Scoot leading us in a toast!

I have written a number of times over the past years about this epic event. And it’s not always about the on-field product of the overachievers on each team. It’s about the pageantry surrounding the game. The cadets and Midshipmen who ”march on” to the stadium, The Navy jets flyover, the Army helicopter flyover, the parachute teams and the overall feeling of patriotism of America united as one! The kids from each academy make this event special as they truly are the best and brightest America has to offer (next to Frostburg State)!

Pre game pageantry

The game went down as a first. Army and Navy battled to a 10-10 tie in regulation with each defense doing its part to prevent the other from any major advancements. This would be the first overtime game in the series history. Caveat: Overtime has only been around since 1996 in college football. Navy did out gain the Army on the ground by a two to one margin, but Army had also completed one pass to none for the Navy. In OT, each team would score on their first play to knot the score at 17. On Navy’s second possession, running back Anton Hall Jr. would unfortunately cough the ball up while attempting to score a touchdown. Army took over and eventually kicked a game winning 39 yard field goal. On another first, the cadets stormed the field to celebrate with their team. The four security guards were outnumbered by 500 to one. While they initially tried to prevent the field rushing, they soon recognized the matter was hopeless. And off to the post game tailgate for us it was.

The previous weekend, I attended the Sun Belt Conference championship where Troy University hosted the Chanticleers from Coastal Carolina university. This was my second time attending a game at Troy in a one month period. The highlight was the Yankee Jambalaya I made and contributed to a communal tailgate. The concoction consisted of chicken, shrimp, spicy sausage, onion, rice and a whole lot of seasoning and flavors. It paired amazingly well with cold yuengling. The game was less interesting than the food. It was a massacre from the onset as Troy brought the energy and Coastal could not find the answer on that dreary, wet, early December day in southern Alabama. Troy captured the Sun Belt Conference ship with a convincing score of 45-26. And in reality, it wasn’t even that close. 

Even the Grinch likes the Troy band!

Around the country - With USC getting upset by a physical Utah squad, the door opened for Ohio State to sneak back into the four-team college football playoff where they will play number one ranked Georgia in the semifinal. On the other side of the bracket, Michigan will face TCU from the Big 12, despite TCU losing their conference championship game to Kansas State. All other bowl games are opportunities for players to showcase their skills for next year or for the pro scouts. Otherwise, there is not a whole lot of meaning these days as so many star players will opt out of the game and coaches will depart for greener pastures.

The Zeisings pre gaming for the MWC championship in Boise.

Bieber - The drunk guy in our row at the Army Navy game who proclaimed the lady sitting in front of him was not pretty enough to sit there. His comments were nearly responded to with severe violence by the lady and her male friends. We helped diffuse the situation and the inebriated one was escorted out of our section — and hopefully the stadium. He may not even remember the game or the tailgate, but he will have his new Bieber hardware to enjoy.

Ginger - Back in September we lost a friend way too young who was a huge part of our past Army Navy weekends. Sincerely one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, Mikey Carlucci went to be with the Lord. His smiling face, keeping his brother in check, helping with the breakfast cooking … He will be sorely missed going forward. Mikey, you were and will always be one helluva great guy. With that, we honor you with this week’s Ginger award along with the silent toast I held for you Saturday

Next up - Most likely my season is over now. I will enjoy watching those meaningless bowl games and the four-team playoff.

Happy Tailgating!