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In a year of tarnished images, scandalous headlines and a farce of a bowl system, college football on Saturday gets its annual 3 1/2-hour chance to redeem itself.
The absolute purity of the sport takes center stage in Landover, Md., as the true definition of amateurism finally will be offered up to a nation that hungers for it.
Army vs. Navy.
We need you now more than ever.
Neither team has played a football game since Nov. 19, and this year, they will own a Saturday all to themselves, as it should be.
Both Army and Navy have storied histories.
And yet-to-be-written great futures.
Army fullback Larry Dixon is just a freshman. Like so many service-academy athletes, he excelled in many sports. At Olympic High School in Bremerton, Wash., Dixon rushed for over 5,000 yards in three years, lettered three times in track and field was elected team captain twice. A born leader.
"There is no better job than serving in the military," Dixon told Terry Mosher of the Kitsap (Wash.) Sun earlier in the year. "Sadly, there is a lot of conflict going on in the world and to have a chance to help out with that, I can't wait. I enjoy the challenge."
Dixon is America's future. But others like him who have gone on to embrace their challenges are now poignant reminders of this rivalry game's past.
Second Lt. James Patrick "J.P." Blecksmith also was a very talented high-school athlete, out of Pasadena, Calif. Blecksmith was a wide receiver and backup quarterback at Navy who caught a pass for the Midshipmen in the 2001 game against Army.
He was commissioned in 2003 by the Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq on Sept. 10, 2004.
One month later, Blecksmith was shot and killed in Fallujah, making him the first officer killed in Operation Phantom Fury. He was 24.
His unit returned safely from the mission and he was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
This Saturday encapsulates everything college football used to be but is no longer. There are no BCS rankings on the line, no future potential NFL draft pick decisions to be made and no multi-million-dollar payouts to squabble over. These players may not field the fastest, strongest or biggest players, but if all hell is breaking loose and you're stuck in a hole with bad guys all around you, who do you want having your back—a five-star linebacker or a future two-star general?
This is a game between two rivals who are fiercely competitive, highly disciplined and the brightest America has to offer.
Navy leads this rivalry 55-49, with seven ties — and Saturday, for another 60 minutes, they'll beat each other up again. But after the game, they will stand as one — many of the team's seniors will be working side by side in hostile arenas, but not before penning their wills at the ripe old age of 24.
It's their choice, and they certainly don’t want sympathy. Ask any of them and they'll say they have the greatest job in the world.
Army coach Rich Ellerson summed it up best.
"We're great competitors, but ultimately, turn the page and we're on the same team," he said. "I think, as a country, we can take a moment to step back and marvel at the quality of these men, and the virtues and values they represent."
When the final seconds tick off the game clock on Saturday, the fun and games will have also ended for many upperclassmen — most will never play football again. Players from both teams will look to the crowd in search of family and friends.
For too many, it's the last time they'll ever see this game played.
Others will be looking straight ahead, searching for an answer to a question on their minds.
Did we make you proud, America?
Why, yes, yes you did.
And we thank you. For everything.
