March On

Ninety-five days down. Five to go. Memory 96/100:

I remember “marching on” to football games. Before each home game, the brigade forms up in T-Court, and we march from there to the stadium. Along the route, people stand by the road and throw candy at the midshipmen. It’s a fun event. When I was a plebe, it was a very relaxed environment. The mids were able to interact with the spectators, catch the candy, and all that fun stuff. The next year, we weren’t allowed to catch the candy. It was sad to watch as we stomped over candy that little kids would throw for us. Over the last two years, the standards relaxed significantly, and we were at least allowed to catch the candy, (but we weren’t supposed to pick it up off of the ground.)

The night before the games, plebes would do “spirit missions,” and they’d post signs along the route, such as “10th Company says CRUSH Rutgers!”

Most mids feel a little bit of cynicism toward marching on, simply because it’s usually hot and uncomfortable. I tended to agree most of the time, but I always enjoyed once we made it to the stadium. The brigade lined up on the field, and the stadium was usually close to filled. We’d tip our hats to the visiting team “D-U-K-E! Gooooooo Duke! Fight.”

After that we’d turn around to face the home team. At that point, the crowd stands up and cheers loudly. We yell back, “N-A-V-Y! Goooo NAVY! Fight!” Then we rush to the stands, and the game starts shortly after (F-18 fly overs were always a special treat.)

It was a great way to start a day of victory, if we won. If we lost, it was a long walk to a painful defeat.