A word to CBS Sports, and a word to Trent Steelman

So, USNA adopted this "Exce11ence" motto, using the number 11 to represent the 11 year streak of beating Army that would happen if we won this year. I think its kinda lame, but the good news is, we won!! This was probably the closest game in years, a little too close for my comfort, and frankly, we only won by luck. Well, luck, and some good defense.

Army only scored one touchdown, and were held to field goal attempts on the rest of their possessions. They missed one of them. We were up 17-13 with only about 2 minutes to go, but Army was driving. And it was looking good. They were at 1st and 10, or maybe even first and goal - near their own 10. They had plenty of time left to score. But their quarterback fumbled on a handoff, and we recovered the ball with just over a minute to go. And we won.

Army's quarterback, Trent Steelman, started this game all four of his years at West Point. And he lost all four. That sucks. It sucked to lose twice while I was there, but at least we won the other two. He was understandably upset about it. I laughed a little the first time they showed him crying. Even posted on Facebook that I almost kinda felt sorry for him. But then the cameras never left him. Through the end of the game, the two alma maters, and after, they kept showing this poor kid crying. SERIOUSLY CBS??? Who OKed that? There was so much else they could have been showing - the celebrations on the Navy side, even some other upset Army players if they really wanted to go there.

I'm thrilled that we beat Army, but that was uncalled for. It was bad enough that we kept getting stuck with Verne Lundquist and his equally douchey counterpart whose name isn't even worth remembering. All they do is talk crap about the Academy players - they did it during Notre Dame, where it was obvious where their love was. But to do it during Army Navy, and then cap it off with the completely classless humiliation of a young man who has already done more in his life than these two a-holes will ever do? Uncalled for.

No matter that I wear shirts that say Beat Army, and have a sign in my house that says Beat Army, and yell Beat Army at the end every time I sing my alma mater. This rivalry is unlike any other - Navy doesn't hate Army the way Florida State hates Florida. Army doesn't hate Navy the way Texas hates Oklahoma. We love and respect each other and each others' teams, players, and fans. However, I think its pretty safe to say that Army and Navy can unite together and maybe not hate, but at least strongly dislike, CBS Sports and their choices at the end and following the game on Saturday.

Trent Steelman, you played a great game. Everything said you should have won. Luck was on our side on Saturday, but that does not and should not discount the fact that you obviously left everything you have out there on the field. I'm proud of you, your team, and to call you a brother in arms.

Decade of Dominance!

For those of you that didn't already hear, Navy beat Army last weekend, 27-21. It was probably the most exciting Army Navy game in years, and just as cold as they always are.

Not too much more to share about the game, just wanted to share some pictures!

President Obama did the coin toss with a Reagan half dollar

Sister and I at the game

Pretty logo

Prisoner Exchange

President Obama is in there somewhere

Jet flyover

Huddle love

Apparently Lee Greenwood is still doing it

Final score!

The Army Chief of Staff. He lost the bet :)

The End of Summer

I remember when Labor Day used to hold some solid significance as far as the end of summer. School starting back up, pool closing... you know, all that. These days, I rarely use the pool, and work goes all year round. The big significance of Labor Day weekend has shifted, for me, to the start of college football and the onset of fall. Not that I don't love summer, but this year was brutal, and even I'm looking forward to some cooler temperatures!!

Yes, the new Kindle. I had been debating it, but recently I realized that carrying around books when I'm traveling is a pain in the butt, as is going to the book store, or ordering books. I love the feel of a regular book as much as the next person, and I've always been a big reader, but I've found in recent years that I'm just not reading as much as I used to. I've been listening to books via audible.com downloads to my iPod for a little over a year now, and that's awesome - at the gym or on road trips it makes the time go much faster - but when I'm just sitting around, I like to read books. I finally decided to take the plunge and order a Kindle. Of course, I made that decision right after they announced the new model, so there was a backlog of preorders, but my Kindle showed up at the house on Friday, about a week before I expected it. So far, I'm absolutely loving it. There's no backlight, so my eyes don't strain while I'm reading. Its small and light, so it tucks right into my purse. And when I'm done with a book, I can get another one from my computer or even right from my Kindle - it connects to my WiFi network so I don't even have to hook it up to the computer. They even have a model that will hook into the AT&T 3G network. Check them out at www.amazon.com, and here's a picture of mine:

A couple of weeks ago Matt and I got to attend a Yelp! event at Madame Tussaud's wax museum in DC for a little birthday bash for Michael Jackson. We had an absolute blast. They gave us free run of the museum - the only thing we didn't get to do was make our own wax hands - AND some local vendors were kind enough to donate some beer, wine, and a few snacks. We had so much fun taking pictures with the wax figures and hanging out with some really awesome people. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the evening:

Ronald Reagan and I are pals, even if his wax figure does have Blago hair.

Johnny Depp is a little intense for me, I think.

We hung out with Morgan Freeman.

I want this sign for my bathroom at home

This Labor Day weekend has been a blast. Between absolutely beautiful weather, the arrival of my new Kindle (YAY!), Texas and Florida State starting out the season with wins, and a little Jammin Java songwriters circle last night, its been a really good weekend. The only thing that could make it any better at this point is a Navy victory over Maryland this afternoon. GO NAVY! BEAT MARYLAND!