Navy's alternate uniforms for this year's Army-Navy game are inspired by the Midshipmen's uniforms from the 1963 season.
It’s become one of the great traditions in college football: the unveiling of custom jerseys for the Army-Navy game.
Army struck first this year, releasing its alternate uniforms Monday. The special threads are modeled after the 82nd Airborne Division from World War II.
Tuesday, Navy responded:
Fans, here are #NavyFootball’s @UAFootball designed “Beat Army” uniforms for this year's #ArmyNavy Game! pic.twitter.com/8QpFGWHQ2R
— Navy Athletics (@NavyAthletics) December 6, 2016
The Midshipmen’s jerseys are inspired by Navy’s uniforms from 1963, a year during which the team went 9-2, beat Army and faced Texas in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day. The quarterback for that year’s Navy squad? Just some guy named Roger Staubach – the 1963 Heisman winner.
This year's #NavyFootball’s “Beat Army” @UAFootball uniform is inspired by the uniforms Navy wore during the 1963 football season pic.twitter.com/hNBjWMgfxc
— Navy Athletics (@NavyAthletics) December 6, 2016
Watch Navy react to the unveiling of the uniform:
The uniform features Navy’s “Beat Army” motto on the hem of the jersey, back of the helmet, and the inside of the gloves. It's a motto that's proved prescient for the past 14 years, as Navy has won each matchup since 2001. But in rivalry games, history tends not to matter.
As expected, both teams impressed with their custom uniforms this year, giving us just one more reason to tune in Saturday afternoon as the two teams square off for the 117th time. It's bound to be a beautiful game.
