Rainy Navy

It was a dark and stormy night when JG and I left our house on Friday to drive down to my sister’s place in Maryland in preparation for the Delaware/Navy game the next day. We squinted through pouring rain to make out the lane markers, merge onto the Beltway, and read road signs, but we managed to arrive in one piece, though not completely dry. JG crashed on the futon with ESPN in the background while my sister and I made sandwiches for our tailgate, strategized about which bags to use, and made a timetable for when we needed to be where. After long drives and days at work, we did not look forward to the early wake-up call, which was heralded only by an alarm clock since the sky transitioned from black to dark gray to somewhat lighter gray. Packing up my sister’s boyfriend’s family’s minivan for the trek to Annapolis was quite the soggy situation.

Upon arriving at Navy about half an hour later, we managed to find a great parking spot within sight of the stadium. Realizing that the rain had slowed to a faint mist, we excitedly pulled out the cooler and camp chairs and poured congratulatory drinks, but it was not to last. The sky darkened and the heavens opened as we scrambled to get our stuff and selves back into the van. The prospect of tailgating, much less watching the game, in these conditions was not encouraging. Part of me wanted to push through and say I’d done it, but the other, more insistent, part of me hated being cold and clammy. I brought an extra change of clothes in case the ones I wore grew too uncomfortable, but I hadn’t anticipated doing the wardrobe switch before the game. Kind of pathetic, really. Thankfully, the wet weather cleared a couple of hours before the game and we enjoyed a relaxing session of eating, talking, and napping. Most importantly, jeans dried and hands warmed, so I didn’t feel like a drowned rat while we walked to our seats.

I left the Navy game with the following souvenirs: a boatload of pictures, a game program, and a hoarse throat. So I did a lot of screaming, but Delaware won, so it must have helped! When the total score exceeds 100 points, it’s clear that there was no defense going on and the defensive line felt my wrath. Apparently, the plan is to try and trip the players rather than tackle them like you mean it and I did not approve. They managed to make the one requisite defensive stop and be the last team with the ball, so — huzzah! — victory! I really enjoyed all of the tradition that Navy instills into their games, like the midshipmen march-on, a flyover at game time, and the freshman doing push-ups at every Navy score. (However, I could have done without the custom of noting a Navy score or the end of a quarter by firing a cannon, which made me jump out of my skin every time. I mean, I get that Navy is a military academy, but is it really necessary?) Even though the student section was just as rowdy as any other, it somehow felt more dignified to me because the students were in uniform. Not that that stopped me from being anything but dignified as I hopped up and down and screeched at the refs who were obviously trying to give Navy some kind of upper hand when it was clear that all was lost. Obviously, I am not over it.

JG and I drove back home that afternoon and crashed in front of the Penn State game, which did not have as appealing results, unfortunately. No matter — this is why we follow more than one team. We are hyped up for our last three games of regular season play because we are definitely headed to the 1-AA play-offs if we win just two of them. If those play-off games are within driving distance, you can bet that we’ll be there.

Get a load of me! I’m like a sports person or something.

#68