Philadelphia Freedom (Fighters)

“If only the entire football season could be more like Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.”

So says FanHouse’s David Whitley in his column – Today, Army-Navy Just a Game, Tomorrow It’s for Real – written in the aftermath of Navy’s 17-3 win over Army this afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.

Navy extends its winning streak over Army to eight straight games, much to the dismay of the Cadets, who were denied the opportunity to extend their season with their first bowl bid since 1996.

At a time when BCS silly season is well underway, it is a pleasure to see an important college football game played among players who love the competiton, yet understand that there are “bigger and better things” in store for them in the future.

Whitley might be on to something when he writes of the lessons to be learned from the atmosphere of this game and the caliber of athletes involved. The business of college football is too far gone to turn back, but a unique opportunity to appreciate the relative purity of the annual gridiron matchup of Army and Navy definitely helps put it all into a much different perspective.