Maryland Versus Navy: A Family Affair

Since they didn't post this at the ACC Basketblog, here is what should have been my column today:

On the eve of opening night, this Maryland football column could almost write itself. "It's the quarterback." Yeah, Terps fans, you know what I'm talking about. You remember that Ralph Friedgen lumbered into town four years ago and did to the legacy of Ron Vanderlinden what the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man did to New York City. Picking up the scraps of a down-on-its-luck program, the Fridge shocked the football world, winning 31 games in his first three seasons, an ACC Championship, and appearances in three bowl games (including two major bowls), all with merely serviceable quarterbacks (remember Shaun Hill and Scott McBrien?). You probably remember the feeling that with the Fridge barking orders from the sidelines, even the average team teetered on the verge of greatness. I dare you to name an offensive player from those 10 win teams of 2001-2003 who is currently drawing a Sunday paycheck in the NFL. The Terps under the Fridge seemingly would be perennial contenders.

Then they laid an egg in 2004. I'll come out and tell you why: "It's the quarterback." But that's the theme for next week's column when we open the ACC schedule against Clemson at Byrd Stadium. We'll leave the QB analysis for then. You, my dear Terps fans, already have that column in your head, anyway. Today I want to focus on the opener, a game that is very special to me: The Crab Bowl, Maryland vs. Navy.

I have an admission to make. This space is usually for your column, dear Terps fans, but deep down inside, I acknowledge it, I am a Midshipman fan. Have been since day 1. Dust off a picture of me, circa 1981 when I lived on the Navy base across the Severn River in Annapolis from the Naval Academy, and once you stop laughing at the short shorts, skinny arms and legs, and socks up to my knees, you'll see a kid wearing something that says "Navy" on it. Or a t-shirt from some far-flung destination in the Middle East my dad visited during a months long tour as XO of the USS Peterson during the late 1970's. Navy sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts, socks, hats…you name it, I had it. To this day, I still wear the "Go Navy" knit hat my dad bought me at a Navy football game in 1980. This was my team as a kid.

My father is USNA Class of '65. As all good fathers do, he introduced my brothers, sisters and me to his team, the Midshipmen. He also introduced us to a way of life, that of a military family. We moved from here to there during the twenty years of my life that he served. Through it all, I have taken pride in being so closely associated with our military and with his alma mater, the Naval Academy. Yeah, I watch the big bowl games whenever circumstances permit. But I always watch Army vs. Navy, and Notre Dame vs. Navy. I remember the 0-11 seasons. I remember Chris McCoy taking Navy to its first bowl victory in decades in the late '90's. I froze in the old Vet in Philly on the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor at an unforgettable Army/Navy game. I sat in 22 degree weather in 2003 opposite Touchdown Jesus in South Bend believing that maybe this would be the year Navy finally beat Notre Dame to end the country's longest losing streak to a single opponent…only to leave cold and dejected as the Irish celebrated like school children after kicking the game winning field goal as time expired. Being a Navy fan is a true lesson in humility. But also a true lesson simply in what it means to BE a fan: loyalty through thick and thin.

My loyalties are split tomorrow night, however. I graduated from the University of Maryland in 1997, and naturally hope the Terps take their season opener. But I won't feel a pang of guilt if Navy surprises the Terps and steals a win at M&T Stadium in Baltimore. Shoot, I'll probably drink to that. And the chances are decent that, although Maryland is an 11 1/2 point favorite, the Mids could take this one from the young Terps.

Paul Johnson, Navy's miracle working coach, led Navy to a 10-2 season last year while Maryland languished at 5-6 (3-5). Both teams sport new QB's this season: Maryland fields junior Sam Hollenbach (1-0 as a starter), while Navy sends out Lamar Owens, a senior who enjoyed scant playing time in the shadows of greats Craig Candeto and Aaron Polanco. Maryland's 21st ranked defense of last season has lost some key players and will have its hands full with Navy's triple option offense. But Navy's defense is undersized and ripe for exploitation by the bigger and faster Terps. The X factor in this one, as you know, is the coaches. Both the Fridge and Johnson have reputations for throwing the paper projections out the window and turning seeming mismatches into true battles. Expect more of the same tomorrow night. If nothing else, it will be fun to watch two excellent coaches with inexperienced teams feel each other out on opening night. This one could come down to which coach has done the better job of preparing his team for a game in front of 70,000 fans on the first day of the season. The circumstances under which this rivalry has been resurrected could make this so-called Crab Bowl one to remember.

I know I will remember this game. My father made a career of the Navy, putting in a good 30 years. He fought for his country in Vietnam. In the 1980's he patrolled the dangerous waters of the Middle East time and again at the helm of a nuclear destroyer. He led an entire destroyer squadron in the waning years of the Cold War. All the while he sacrificed countless months at sea away from his family for the sake of this country that he loves. He also introduced me to Navy football. Though this is an intrafamily rivalry game on paper, it is of the friendly sort. Whatever the outcome, I'll consider it a victory.

Go Terps, Go Navy!

A final anecdote: My father was there in 1964 when a jerk Terrapin named Jerry Fishman flipped off Roger Staubach and all the Navy fans, putting dormant an intrastate rivalry for 40 years. Apparently, the fans in the stands were just as poorly behaved as Fishman on the field. I emailed my dad a couple days ago and this is how he remembers that game:

"I seem to remember it. I think that was the game when my cap got stolen and I ran after the stealer into one of the dorms. Amazingly the student dorm manager retrieved it and returned it to me......"

Let's hope as this match-up's history is written going forward, we see more of the former than the latter. The rivalry renews on September 3, 2005.

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