Notre Dame has always been known for it's association with the Service Academies. Army and Navy both have a storied history with Notre Dame. Army and Notre Dame used to be a big game that was played at Yankee Stadium. It was fun to bring that back a couple years ago in the Shamrock Series.
We all know about how Navy helped Notre Dame survive financially during World War II by creating a training center on campus. To celebrate that, they play each other every year. That has gone uninterruputed unlike other Notre Dame rivals. This season, it was fun to kick off the college football season in Ireland with this rivalry. I hope that can become more regular.
That is one reason I like watching this game. Both schools are connected to Notre Dame. The other is out of respect for the troops. Those guys risk their lives every day so I can write a blog and others can argue with me about it.
Often times it is argued what is the greatest college football rivalry. Is it Alabama-Auburn, Notre Dame-USC, Michigan-USC, Florida-Florida State, etc. Make no mistake of it, Army-Navy is as big of rivaly as any of those. It may not get the national attention, but it means just as much to these players.
Navy has dominated this game for a decade as Army has not won since 2002. But a good rivalry does not die because of being one sided. Notre Dame and USC has gone through one sidedness for both teams, but the rivalry stays strong.
This year the game features a 7-4 Navy team against a 2-9 Army team. Therefore, you would think that Navy will continue the dominance. However like so many other rivals, throw the records away when these two teams play.
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