I recall, back in my days as a midshipman, I had this fascination with members of the other service academies.
Other than the handful exchange students floating around the Naval Academy, until I attended the Army/Navy game, I had never really seen a cadet. And there they were - en masse - it was something to see. I've never seen so much gray. I always thought their uniforms looked kind of cool.
I always wondered if we had similar experiences. I really wanted to talk to a cadet and share stories. What was it like to be a Plebe at West Point? Was it much different than being a Plebe at the Naval Academy? While walking around the stadium, I recall talking to some West Point plebes - which brings to mind the old cliché: "Misery loves company." At the time, there was a tradition of exchanging cuff links. I gave one West Point plebe my cuff links and he gave me his. The rest of my time at the Naval Academy, whenever I wore cuff links, they were always West Point cuff links. I
still have those cuff links.
Since there was a standard b-robe (bathrobe) bet for every Army/Navy game, whenever we won, Army would have b-robes sent to each midshipman. (Of course, when we lost, Navy sent them over 4,000 b-robes) Many of us wore those West Point b-robes. It was extremely common to see
gray b-robes in the p-ways during study hour.
The bond between the academies seemed very tight then. Oh sure, we would tease each other but there was always the understanding that it was tongue-in-cheek and
always in good fun.
I'm guessing it is probably much like that today. I don't know that for sure, though. I'm a little out of touch since my sons basically tell me
nothing. Getting information out of them is like pulling teeth. I think they do it just to aggravate me.
Traditions tend to evolve. They ebb and flow. I'm wondering if attitudes are much the same these days.
While watching the Navy/Air Force game, when it was over, I noticed a lot of sad faces on the midshipmen in the stands in the background. And then, once reality had sunk in, I noticed the sullen faces had been wiped away - their covers were put on - they stood a little taller - and they were actually
clapping. In the final analysis - they realize that it was
just a college football game and that, ultimately, they were
all on the same team. There will be bigger fish to fry in the not-too-distant future for both sides.
