651 days.

It had been 651 days since fans filled Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for a Navy football game. That was a win against SMU 35-28, the sixth that year at NMCMS. Navy lifted their record to 9-2 (7-1 in AAC play). They sealed the win late when a 4th and 2 “draw ‘em offsides” play drew SMU offsides. We sang “Navy Blue and Gold” before walking out into the darkening evening not knowing it would be another 651 days.

I know, I know – plenty of Navy fans made it to Army-Navy 2019 and to the Liberty Bowl, including a lot of frequent flyers here on TheMidReport.com (Kansas State is my Dad’s alma mater, so I would have loved to get to Memphis, but it also felt right watching with Mom a year-and-a-half after his passing.) Army-Navy is always a special event to attend. Bowl games are a lot of fun with pageantry all their own.

But for those of us lucky enough to be close by and hold season tickets, Navy home football games set the rhythm of the fall. And 651 days was a long time.

And Navy Gameday – despite the result on the scoreboard – gave us a lot back.

Not everything, of course. NMCMS has a mask policy, so we had to make sure everyone was up to date on that. I had a “Chewie, we’re home,” moment getting back to our tailgate site, but it still wasn’t exactly the same. The Class of ’91 was missing our usual tailgating neighbors because the Motherhood of the Brotherhood was memorializing Michelle Cummings, mother of plebe football player Trey Cummings, tragically killed by a stray gunshot when she was in Annapolis for Induction Day. In addition to everyone observing a moment of silence before the anthem, the “Motherhood of the Brotherhood” honored her with a pre-game ceremony that included Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley and U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. It was an immediate reminder, like the entire weird pandemic season had been, that the details of a fan’s football season are relatively small concerns.

But we did tailgate. Maybe most of the locals had seen one another at some point, but even some home game regulars had the full 651 days to catch up on. Classmates came from California and Hawaii, and a couple of 1991’s flag officers stopped by in Summer Whites before dashing off to fulfill whatever flag officer requirements they had.

Then the sight of the Midshipmen marching down Taylor Avenue reminded us it was time to get into the stadium.

I know the march-on, the fly-by of F/A 18 Hornets, and the parachutist who followed with the American flag flying are a big part of the attraction of Navy Gameday. For me, though, the pageantry persists through all the little things that don’t get on CBS Sports Network’s “B-Roll” of video clips.

In 2020, when the Brigade was able to attend, did they even have a video scoreboard Crab Race? Blue Crab won on Saturday.

They also trotted out a new video scoreboard feature. The Goat Combine made an appearance between the first and second quarters.

Maybe it’s just me, but this one just seems to lack the spice of the Crab Race.

From my seats, I’m close enough to enjoy all the various South End Zone or sideline presentations. They made my day on Saturday in a way that watching at home didn’t last year. Navy and Marshall shared in honoring Jack Lengyel, who revived the Marshall football program after the tragic airplane crash and then was the long-time athletic director at Navy. A much-deserved standing ovation from both sides of the stadium.

Patriot League Commissioner Jennifer Heppel presented the Patriot League Presidents’ Cup.

The Alumni Association honored the four 2021 Distinguished Graduates:

When the fly-by crew was presented in between the 3rd and 4th quarters, they made it a family affair:

The result of the game was disappointing, but it still felt good to be back. From the tailgating to singing “Navy Blue and Gold” along with the Brigade and the team, it was an amazing day after 651 days without attending a Navy Gameday.

The Navy Gameday experience remains a GOAT.