A Long Haul

Tradition. It's the very fabric of the holiday season. 

This week I learned of a new tradition, courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy. Army brat that I am, even I had to tip my hat to the efforts made by our country's midshipmen. Here's why.

For the past 40+ years, undergraduates at the Naval Academy have run a football from Annapolis, MD to the site of the annual Army-Navy game. Nearly all of the previous contests were played in Philadelphia, but this year the game was slated for Gillette Stadium, some 458 miles from the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. That's one long run.

The logistics of this year's relay were dizzying. Coordinating with both local and state law enforcement agencies, a route was mapped and supplied for the 194 runners assigned to the task. 

As promised, the football arrived at 5:00 a.m. on game day, just in time to sneak through the stadium gates before the swarm of tailgaters descended. 

As they say in the Navy...

"Damn the torpedos. Full speed ahead."