One of college football’s fiercest rivalries will be renewed on Saturday, December 10, when Army and Navy square off.
Army and Navy unveil epic uniforms for this year’s meeting
Both Army and Navy have unveiled their uniforms for this year’s meeting, and the details are incredible
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Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Beyond the play on the field, one of the aspects of this rivalry in recent years has been the uniforms the two teams unveil for the game. We have seen Navy pay tribute to naval aviation, their campus in Annapolis, the Blue Angels, and of course their uniforms that paid homage to the naval fleet.
For their part, Army has honored the 25th Infantry Division, the 1st Cavalry Division, the 82nd Airborne Division, and the Special Forces. Similar to Navy’s helmets that reflected the different ships in their fleet, in 2015 Army wore helmets featuring the 17 different branches of the U.S. Army.
We now know what the uniforms will look like for this year’s edition of Army vs. Navy.
Beyond looking incredible, the details in both uniforms is truly noteworthy.
We can start with Navy.
Navy is paying tribute to the 54 graduates of the Naval Academy who have gone on to become astronauts for NASA, the “most of any institution.” The uniforms feature a number of Navy and NASA elements, and the helmets depict Naval Academy graduate Bruce McCandless II, who took the “first untethered spacewalk, venturing further away from the confines and safety of a ship than any previous astronaut:”
On the other side of the helmets, the NASA logo is featured along with the moon.
The pants feature the NASA astronaut pin, which was adopted in 1963 and first awarded to the Mercury 7 astronauts.
Army unveiled their uniforms on Monday, and this year they will pay tribute to the 1st Armored Division:
According to the team’s website, the uniforms tell: “... the story of the soldiers of the 1st Armored Division during World War II. This year marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Torch and the commencement of American ground operations against Axis forces in the European theater, which included North Africa.”
The pants feature the insignia of the 1st Armored Division. According to the announcement, the insignia represents “...how vehicles are identified in the United States Army, in World War II and present day. The ‘bumper number’ is a quick way to identify a specific organization, vehicle or leader during training or combat operations.”
Perhaps the best feature of these uniforms? The “mud splatter.” As noted, the “... mud on the jersey and helmet signifies the reality of what tanks and armored vehicles looked like during Operation Torch and the North Africa Campaign.”
While Navy will see its season draw to a close after this game, as they enter the rivalry meeting with a 4-7 record, Army could qualify for a bowl game with a win over their rivals. Army is 5-6 on the season, and could get into a bowl with a victory, combined with some results breaking their way.
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