The Army-Navy game may be the best rivalry in all of sports. Now, members of another great rivalry appear to want a piece of the action.
For 117 times, the annual battle between the Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen has been more than a college football game – it’s about what the future holds for all the players and how it may just be the best rivalry in all of sports. That was further amplified this year when Army finally broke their 14-game losing streak to the hated foes from Annapolis.
Now, two teams that define hated rivals – the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox – are reportedly interested in having the annual college football showdown in there houses and are battling with each other for the right.
The Boston Globe confirmed that the ownership of Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox for nearly a century, placed a bid to hole the 119th edition of the Army-Navy Game inside the Green Monster. The iconic structure has hosted more college games of late, including Notre Dame-Boston College in 2015 and three games this season that include BC taking on UConn.
At the same time, the Baltimore Sun is reporting that the Yankees have formally submitted a bid as well. The new stadium, opened in 2009, has hosted several college games – including games involving Army – as well as the annual Pinstripe Bowl. The original Yankee Stadium hosted two games in this rival back in the 1930’s.
According to the Sun, those aren’t the only two cities trying to get into the action:
"The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority has submitted a bid to host the game at The Meadowlands, while Baltimore (Baltimore Ravens, M&T Bank Stadium), Foxborough (New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium) and the District of Columbia (Washington Redskins) are also in the mix, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said."
Not mentioned on that list is the city of Philadelphia, which has hosted the most games in the series with 86 and will be the host city for the 2017 edition later this year. 11 cities have hosted the game all time, including both universities as well as games in Pasadena, CA and Chicago among others.
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Of course, after breaking their streak last year in Baltimore – not far from the campus of the Naval Academy in Annapolis – you might think that Army wouldn’t mind keeping it at the home of the NFL’s Ravens for a few more years.