So here we sit in November and the Black Knights of Army stand undefeated. I think I can speak for the fan base, and say that we’ve all been impressed by this team. To me, the wins and losses are neither as profound nor as impressive as something else that every one of these cadets has accomplished simply by putting on the uniform every day.
I’ll get back to that.
In our first @American_Conf season, WE ARE AAC CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND!#AmericanWay x #AmericanFB pic.twitter.com/2fJ5mrTtTy
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) November 16, 2024
Please allow me a moment to introduce myself to the AFF community. My name is Joe Bridson, also known as Triggered Joe of Veteran Trash Talk and As For Football’s own College Football Roundtable. I served with the 2/505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, of THE 82nd Airborne Division. I did a 15-month tour of Samara, Iraq, from August 2006 until October 2007. To give anyone a frame of reference timewise, I was there during the trial and eventual execution of Saddam Hussein. Please excuse the morbidity of that statement, but war has a way of dulling your senses when it comes to life-and-death situations. I won’t get into the ugly details of my deployment, but I will just say that I signed up to do bad things to bad people, and I got what I signed up for. I returned home with a Purple Heart, plenty of unique life experiences that I cannot easily describe, and 10 fewer brothers. That’s how many we lost.
With that said, let’s touch on what impresses me so much about this Black Knights football team. It’s the commitment to service that separates them in my mind as exceptional individuals. The fact that they are 9–0 on the football field tells me that plenty of these guys could’ve played college football elsewhere. They chose West Point because they wanted to be part of something bigger than themselves. That’s where I find the common ground with them as an NCO and as a combat veteran. War or no war, it’s their willingness to go and fight if and when their number is called. They are not just college football players. They are also and most importantly, young officers in training.
Now I can’t tell you about the pressure of missing or making a 50 yard game-winning field goal at the collegiate level. I can, however, testify to the gravity of responsibilities a young officer in combat will have. One is heavier than the other. I don’t mean to be dramatic, but some of these young officers one day will be faced with a critical decision that will affect the lives of their very real soldiers. In those moments, football becomes “just a game”. Having said that, I know that the bulk of these young officers will never see combat. But again, that’s not what matters. It’s their willingness to commit to the defense of our nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that makes them more than just Division I athletes.
We've clinched a berth into the AAC Championship Game on Dec. 6 vs. Tulane.
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) November 16, 2024
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From my own experiences in what I considered an elite unit, I can honestly say that a good officer walks like a god amongst his men. They have the lives of their men and of their men’s families in their hands. People count on them.
When in command of a company, or even a platoon, the men that follow these officers expect them to make the right call. Sometimes, in my experience, that call means going through a wall by making your own hole while knowing that death might be waiting for you on the other side. This is a responsibility that I cannot quantify in words.
I’m not writing this for recognition, but I saw combat when I deployed. Every single time that the bullets started flying — or when bombs started going off — my “LT” got right down on site and engaged it with me. As a matter of fact, we both got Purple Hearts from that same engagement. I would’ve walked through a hail of bullets for that man, and he would’ve done the same for all of us.
We had one day that every one of us thought could’ve been our last day on this earth in Samara. That day, our beloved “LT” took shrapnel from a rocket propelled grenade, and it chewed his leg up pretty badly. When he got to Germany, he got the choice to do a skin graph and end his deployment or let the doctors make relief cuts in his skin to pull the wound closed, sew it up with 80 stitches, and he could be back to us in a month. He chose the latter, made it back to us in four weeks, and I will never forget the sense of relief that we all felt when we got our leader back.
The selflessness to make that choice to get back to his men, that embodies the spirit of a leader. When posed with a decision to take care of himself first — and to potentially take himself out of harm’s way while his men remained in combat — he instead chose to get back to his men as quickly as possible. That embodies a real spirit of selflessness. It embodies the spirit of the United States Military Academy.
Got up and kept fighting.
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) November 12, 2024
"That's a fighters mentality, it's a warriors mentality, it's a soldiers mentality." – @CoachJeffMonken pic.twitter.com/QLYVMXRfh6
This is why I see something more than just a group of Division I athletes when the Army Black Knights take the field. I see future leaders that could one day be faced with the decision to walk with a limp for the rest of their life simply so they can get back to their men first and take care of themselves last.
From this grizzled old NCO‘s perspective, I see future Heroes.
In closing, I would like to deliver a message to the 2024, 9-0, Army Black Knights football team:
November 23 at Yankee Stadium there will be a team waiting to derail your undefeated season. That team is the Notre Dame fighting Irish, and yes, they will be favored. Yes, I know that it’s Notre Dame, and so most of the nation will be looking upon the Black Knights like the little guy that doesn’t stand a chance. Just remember that most of this country didn’t serve and never will. Most of this country doesn’t understand the sacrifice that you gentlemen have made to get to where you are right now. Most of the country does not have the heart to fight like you do. Most of the country does not have the mindset to keep the name on the back of your jersey more important than the name on the front*. Let most of the country underestimate you until kick off, and then let most of the country be shocked when the clock reads zeros.
Go Army! Beat the Irish!!!
*Editor’s Note: Army Football jerseys have name tapes on the front like regular Army uniforms. The backs typically just say “Army”.
Cover image via USMA’s official Flickr page. This image shows soldiers re-enlisting during Army’s homecoming game against East Carolina University.
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