By Charlie Leffler
The shouts, the uniforms, the push-ups, the flags, the bands, the chants- all are part of a typical game day at West Point’s Michie Stadium. When the University of Louisville Cardinals travel to West Point this Saturday, they will be entering one of the most respected locations for football in this country. Because of the prestige of the traditions many of the players are looking forward to the trip. They will be besieged by the patriotism, pride, and pageantry that overwhelms all visitors to the stadium. “When I was a redshirt freshman we played at Army and that was an awesome place to play,” said U of L quarterback Dave Ragone. “That stadium was phenomenal. It’s a place with so much tradition and a beautiful setting. I’m kind of excited to go back there. Just to see their fans, their military, when they go down and chant all that stuff it’s a special atmosphere.”
Ironically, while the stadium has long been lavished with adulation, the team that plays there has not. The words respect and Army football have been rarely ones that were associated with one another. Year after year of losing records has made the Army football team one that opponents usually chock up as an automatic win. Over the last 11 years, the Black Knights have only had two winning seasons, one of those, a 6-5 record in 1993, included a blow out loss to a 3-8 Duke team.
When Army Head Coach Todd Berry first came to the US Military Academy three years ago, he said one of the first things he noticed was the lack of respect that his team was given. “The first year I was at the Academy, I was really disappointed that when we went on the road we did not get a better response,” said the coach. Berry was not necessarily looking for respect for his team as football players but because of his young men’s dedication to the country. “I think that maybe people out there did not recognize the sacrifice that these young people make in order for our way of life to maintain the level that is has for the last 200 years.”
Yet, over the last year things have changed for the team that got no reverence. Not only on the playing field but also in their day to day lives. The events of September 11, 2001 had a devastating effect upon this nation, but nowhere did the shock waves run deeper than at West Point, which is only a short drive from New York City. “It certainly impacted us all,” said Berry. “It impacted our daily routine. It impacted the way that we go about our daily lives in the sense that some things had to change.”
The situation was especially trying for Berry, since he had not served in the military himself. Unexpectedly, the coach found himself not only having to deal with his own personal views of the terrorist attacks but trying to hold his football team together at the same time. He found himself thrust into the world of a military tragedy and having to help young people cope with it on a day to day basis.
People outside of the academy tend to lose perspective when they view the Army players. To the cadets, football is secondary and the players who come there know their priorities. “As far as a whole team, it kind of put a perspective on our main purpose in going to West Point, service to our country,” said senior defensive tackle Clarence Holmes.
Instead of a recreation, football became a means for the players to take their thoughts away from national events for a few hours a day. Berry said his job was to use his practices for his players to set aside world events. “The ultimate objective is to make sure you have some down time to focus on something else to be fresh when you come back to it.”
Still, the cadets found such a task difficult. “We knew that when we come to the field to practice it’s all about football,” said Holmes. “But at the same time, our mission is to protect the Constitution, it’s always going to be at heart.”
Louisville linebacker Robert McCune knows exactly what the cadets are thinking. For the past three years, McCune has served in the Army National Guard. “My sergeant always tells me that it could be any time when we could go (into combat),” he said, “so, I’m just trying to enjoy the football and if that ever comes it comes. I love football, but being with the military I have my duty with them too.”
It was not a situation that Berry would have thought he would find himself coming into football. “I never thought growing up in Miami, Oklahoma that I’d be shaking hands with the President of the United States,” said the coach. Likewise, Berry never would have dreamed that he would receive orders from a general, visit the Pentagon or meet Alexander Haag. Berry’s eyes were quickly opened to the dedication that the cadets have to the country. “It doesn’t take long at the academy to recognize that our young people have a higher mission,” he said. “We’re preparing these young people to become leaders for our country and not play football on Saturdays. I have no problem with that because there’s 200 years of history that says they’ve done something right. It’s very easy to get inspired there on a daily basis. To be patriotic.”
Though the Black Knights made no dramatic improvement in the wins column, last season the players found something else that they had long sought: respect for who they are. “It was very gratifying last year that when we went on the road the reception that we got,” said Berry. “I thought that these young people were finally appreciated. Not for being a football player, but for what they were doing. It takes a special young man, young woman to be in the academy and give up some of those freedoms that the rest of us enjoy for a lifetime of selfless service to the nation.”
“It’s unfortunate that sometimes events like 9/11 have to bring everybody’s consciousness to the point where they start to appreciate things that over a period of time you can lose appreciation for,” said Berry. “We found that a lot last year.”
