10 things all college football fans should be thankful for

10. Army-Navy football game

Some may argue that the Army-Navy game belongs under the umbrella of all college football rivalries, but there is no rivalry similar to that of the Black Knights and the Midshipmen.

The two schools first met in 1890, and have played every year since 1899. Navy leads the all-time series with a record of 56-50-7. However, the Black Knights currently own bragging rights over the Midshipmen as they won last year’s meeting by a score of 21-17, ending Navy’s 14-game winning-streak, the longest by either side in the series.

The game is even more special, when the United States is at war. It’s an everlasting image of some of these men on the gridiron for the final time before they were to head off the Germany, Japan, Vietnam and so on and so forth. The rivalry also includes legendary names such as Doc Blanchard, Glenn Davis, Pete Dawkins, Roger Staubach and Joe Bellino.

This game affects Americans more than they know, as fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers have served in either branches of the military. Thanks to my great-grandfather, Naval veteran Ernest J. Cavanaugh, I usually find myself saying “Go Navy, Beat Army!”.