Navy (AAC) 2019

College:   United States Naval Academy

Year:       2019

Game:     Navy 34 Air Force 25

Rating:    9
Cost Index:  Low

Stadium:  Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

If you want to make it part of a larger trip:  University of Maryland

Accommodations:  I stayed at a friends house for this trip but there aren't a lot of hotels right in Annapolis. If you were to stay in Annaopolis for a game vs. Air Force I expect it would be very expensive.  Not sure how it would be for other games.  Annapolis is one of America's most beautiful small cities so it might be worth it. 

Pre-game: I flew in the morning of the game. I was able to get there early and had some time to explore downtown Annapolis along with a bit of the Navy campus.  Navy campus is meticulously kept, as one would expect.  Much more accessible compared to Air Force, you have to pass security to get in but they allow you to walk around. I didn't have as much time as I would have liked but I did get to see the tomb of John Paul Jones...and I learned something as up until my visit to Navy I thought John Paul Jones was the bassist for Led Zeppelin. Turns out that is only the second most famous John Paul Jones. 

Game Experience:  Service Academies were made for football pre-game festivities.  They had a flyover with F-16 I believe, though I'm not sure.  The best part of pre-game were the "Leap Frogs" which I believe are a Navy Seal outfit that parachutes into the stadium from about five thousand feet up. 

The game itself started sloppy. Navy was the better team most of the day but couldn't quite put Air Force away. Air Force took the lead late, Navy drove down and scored with 23 seconds left to win (they also scored on the last play so the final score is deceiving).

https://leapfrogs.navy/

Stadium:  Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium  Stadium was redone maybe 10 years ago.  One of the end zones has various memorials to famous Navy battles.  I spent some time reading through most of them, it's worth your time to check those out. 

Overall:  9  Would recommend to anyone who actually likes the game of football and the pageantry associated with the military. 

Game Recap:  https://www.espn.com/college-football/game?gameId=401117516