Army Beating ND Will Be American Soup For the Soul On Saturday
It is a shock to absolutely no one that I am proud of the fact that I played football at Army. Graduating from West Point and playing football there will forever remain one of my life's greatest accomplishments. I've endured countless jabs from folks around here and the internet about shoe-horning Army into conversations or my lack of stats as a backup (Not ever mentioned - I had a perfect record for holds on all place kicks). However, none of those mattered or ever got to me. Why? You watch the video above or the Chiclets University from a few weeks ago and you get a glimpse.
Most people know very little about what it is actually like to play a sport at West Point. Heck, some people think we field our teams from Soldiers in the Army and have no idea that Army athletes are cadets at West Point. Sure, they flash the daily schedule at some point during the broadcast of football games but I don't know how much that hits home for folks.
When Frank and Mikey take time to make content with the cadets actually in school today, it provides a more accurate representation of what it means to go to West Point. The challenge of balancing school with your sport is unlike any other school in the country. You can't just skip class for no reason or not show up to morning formation with your uniform squared away. There is an added level of responsibility ON TOP OF the immense responsibility of playing a sport at the D1 level.
At the risk of sounding simple, West Point is hard. Bundle everything together and you have a grueling 47 month experience but going through it with your brothers in the locker room makes it tolerable. I'll forever keep those men and our alma mater close to my heart because of that exact reason.
Which brings us to this weekend against Notre Dame. What an opportunity this team has. No one in the country is giving us a chance outside of the men in the locker room, those who donned the Black and Gold, and folks who have a West Point diploma hanging on their wall. That's fine. America's Army has been in tough situations before.
Give me the men in the locker room, Coach Monken, our Coaches, and I'll take on anyone in the country. You know why Army is different, and not just this year, than every other team in the country? We aren't transactional. We are there for our brothers next to us. We are willing to bleed for each other. We won't skip town if someone else offers us a big check. This game, this program, this Brotherhood means more to us than every other team we ever line up against.
You're welcome to count us out. Just don't be upset when you end up bloodied and beaten sulking while thinking to yourself, "How the heck could they beat us?"
It's simple, really. We just refused to let each other down.
"For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother."
Beat the Irish!