Veteran’s Day salutes
Thank you to all the Veterans who have served in our military. There were many sports highlights over the weekend, but the greatest highlight of all was the unending support for our service men and women. Here are a couple games I watched that paid tribute to the military.
The Armed Forces Classic – (19) Oregon v. Georgetown, Camp Humphreys, South Korea, November 8, 2013.
The Armed Forces Classic between Oregon and Georgetown took place at Camp Humphreys in South Korea on Friday, November 8th. The setting was spectacular with about two thousand active duty military members in attendance. The teams wore specialized jerseys imitating the camouflaged army fatigues worn by the soldiers in the stands.
The atmosphere at Camp Humphreys was similar to a boxing match, with the crowd cheering on the high flyers. When Joshua Smith, the 6’ 10” 350 lbs G-town center, put home a rim rocker with 1:55 to go in the 1st half, the crowd went crazy. The same was true when Richard Amardi, a forward on Oregon, dunked the ball with 2:31 to go in the second half to give the Ducks a 73-68 lead. The game came down to the free throw line with Oregon shooting 9 of 10 from the charity stripe during the final 1:15 to win 82-75.
NFL Salute to Service – Each NFL team honors the military during a home game in November.
The San Diego Chargers celebrated their Salute to Service game yesterday. Former Navy SEALs parachuted onto the field in dramatic fashion before the opening kickoff at Qualcomm Stadium. After the first quarter, the fans participated by creating “Thank You Military” and “Thank You Veterans” messages in the stands. San Diego is home to thousands of active and retired members of the military, and the SD sports teams do a fantastic job of supporting the military.
A few game notes: The Chargers were down 28-6 after Peyton Manning’s third straight touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas with 11:34 to go in the third quarter. The Chargers then scored two unanswered touchdowns off Philip Rivers‘ 7-yard TD pass to Danny Woodhead in the third, and a 1-yard TD run by Ryan Mathews to narrow the deficit to 28-20 with 10:42 in the fourth. The Bolts could not ignite their offense for another score and the game ended with the Broncos winning 28-20. The Broncos improved to 8-1 and the Chargers fell to 4-5.
It was great to see the major sports leagues honoring our service men and women during Veteran’s Day weekend. Thank you Veterans!
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