With the baseball season long gone and no Saturday baseball at Yankee Stadium, my uncle called and asked if I would be interested in attending an Army football game at their West Point command center. With the weather not too chilly yet and never having seen a college game before, I said yeah and we grabbed tickets for the next available home game. Tickets were only thirty-five bucks and I was able to get a pair online the night before. They also have tickets at the box office on game day, but for the big games such as against Navy or Air Force, its best to buy them online sooner. Their opponent for this game was going to be the Ball State Cardinals, from Indiana apparently, although for some reason I thought they were from Ohio.
For some reason I always thought West Point was way upstate, like Albany, and would take several hours to reach. After printing out the driving directions I saw the journey should take a little over an hour. We ended up taking the 1-87 North and then switched over to the Palisades Parkway North, near Bear Mountain, then after Route 6 East, all which included a scenic view of trees changing colors as we end into the final months of the year. Just as the directions predicted, we were in the town of West Point in just about an hour and had to painstakingly trail a car adhering to the 30mph speed limit. With the road leading into the town only having one lane, we were unfortunately stuck behind this one vehicle for quite a while. We had directions, but weren't actually sure where the stadium was located, so once we saw some guys tossing a football around in a parking lot, we decided to park near them and ask. The place looked like some type of welcoming center, and beyond that there was a sign indicating that there was a museum on grounds, so with about two hours to waste before game time, we went around to check everything out. It turns out the stadium was just a few minutes down the road we were on, so we were able to take our time in the visiting center and museum.
First we started out with the center, there's a big information desk once you get in for any questions or directions. Towards the right there's a gift shop which mainly sells items and gear related to the Black Knights Army Football team. To the left is a mini-museum, an educational walk-through of the United States Military's history as well as a summary of what West Point cadets have to go through if they choose to attend the academy. Where as under typical college circumstances,incoming college students bring their Playstation and Xbox and other amenities of home, with the military academy you only bring yourself and that's it! The academy provides cadets with everything else, right down to the deodorant and toothpaste. There's also a looping video of what each cadet has to go through on daily basis, to persuade or dissuade anybody thinking of making the leap. We make a quick stop to the gift shop before heading out to the museum. Under normal circumstances the museum on Saturdays doesn't open until 10:30am and we would've had to wait a little, but luckily for some reason on this particular day they had it open already at 9:30am and we were able to go in without waiting. Admission is free and there's three floors worth of stuff to look at. There's plenty of really old stuff going back to hundreds and hundreds of years ago, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to use any flash on my camera as it could potentially damage something, but since there weren't any signs, I snapped away.
The main floor and the upstairs contain a wide spectrum of uniforms, weapons, and military gear from the days to the knights in shinning armor to modern times. The best the museum has to offer is located in the basement level. In addition to the bathroom and water fountains, there really explosive stuff is down there. Once you enter you're immediately confronted with canons and all sorts of field artillery, mainly from the Civil War. Then there's jeeps, early-model tanks, and then for good measure an actual Atomic Bomb!! Hoping it wasn't active, I walked over and went nose-to-nose with these little toy I've heard so much about from history books and movies. I thought it would be a little bigger, its actually about the size of one of those supped-up BBQ grills that real barbecue fanatics use. Towards the back wall they had all sorts of machine guns, from semi-automatic to these big gargantuan things that someone like Rambo would carry around. Not to be outdone, there was also a wall dedicated to bazookas and other type of anti-tank weapons that I've only seen in movies. In all, there were enough guns in the West Point Museum to supply a small army in any generation. If anyone has the burning desire to see what an atomic bomb looks like and has no time machine to go back to 1945 Japan, then this is the place to go.
Game time was closing in at an hour away, so we left the World War II jeep behind and went back to the car to make way to Michie Stadium. Unlike the welcome center and museum, the football stadium is on the actual military academy grounds, hence on a military base that we needed to be screened at a checkpoint before entering. They have those bomb-detectors they scan under vehicles with, plus I saw they were searching the trunks of some of the other cars. The soldier we had come up to us just asked to see drivers licenses/IDs and only took a quick peek at the backseat. He waived us through without asking to look in the trunk or scanning under the vehicle, I guess we didn't look creepy enough. When we drove through there was a toll-booth like structure had to pass under, so I'm sure there were invisible scanners we passed through to get a nice jolt of radiation in our bodies for the game. Since we didn't any have special parking pass, we had to take the the generic parking spot towards the end of the campus which cost twenty-bucks and requires a mile long march to the stadium. It was about a ten-minute drive from the entrance to the actual lot, and nearly another twenty minutes walking to the stadium. Although the view of the Hudson River, the mountains, and the foliage changing color was spectacular, that walk up hill after hill towards Michie Stadium was a military-style workout in itself. There are shuttle buses which run from some of the lots to the stadium, but we opted to walk it, not knowing how grueling it would actually be. We saw the living quarters for what would have to be the high-ranking officials on base. Military Police personnel were station at some of the corners to direct traffic, and one of them barked at us for not crossing at the crosswalk. Apparently, he would have a stroke if he ever saw how people crossed streets in a small city called New York.
As we walked along a large pond I begun to see the stadium and noticed lines began to form near the entrance gate. In front of us, cadets dressed in white with their hats on seemed to make up the bulk of the crowd. At the gate, there's another security check like most other sporting events, but I guess since its a military event, they require IDs for people eighteen and over. Not knowing this, my uncle actually left his in the car, and with another long walk to the car too painful to imagine, he decided to go forward and see what would happen. It turns out since I was with him and did have my ID, they allowed him to enter after asking me if I could vouch for him. After that battle we were in the main area which is geared towards the fans, especially kids. There were some jungle-gyms and bouncy houses for kids to hop around in. There was also a tent were kids (and probably adults too) could go in and get their faces painted in camo for the game. We still had time to kill before kickoff so we grabbed some beers and sandwiches and hung out by the pond. I had a sausage-n-peppers hero with a Bud Light. My uncle spotted fish in the water, while waiting for the game to start, we tossed some bread to them to pass the time. Then all of a sudden, a canon shot off across the pond which almost made me drop my beer and hero into the water. I felt as if my chest caved in and I had to make sure my heart didn't jump out of my mouth. The explosion is their way of saying its ten minutes to game time - everyone get to your seats. They don't allow beer inside the stadium itself, so I had to down my Bud Light quickly. I saw other fans didn't want to depart with their beers, so they just stood outside and drank (and several just stayed out there all game to drink).
All the army cadets were confided to their section which was a sea of white hats and white shirts, with the army marching band nearby. The Ball State fans were stationed behind one of the end zones and stuck out with their redness. Our seats we along the side view of the field near the end zone that the Ball State fans were seated. With tickets for NFL games about the same price as buying a new BMW, for the price of a college game its a great opportunity to get close to the field without having to take out a third mortgage. Overall the stadium was quite empty, and with Army posting a 1-6 record in that point of the season, I could understand why. The cadets and marching band members were standing all game long, other "citizens" were allowed to sit down. Ball State jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and scored two touchdowns on their first two drives of the game. It looked like it was going to be a blowout, but Army did score a touchdown of their own in the first quarter and went into half-time trailing by a manageable 17-10 score. After an Army touchdown, the canon in the stadium as well as that friendly monster canon across the pond, each fire a shot to celebrate the score. The main problem the Black Knights was that they couldn't throw the football at all. It was a real throw-back to football in the 1930's and 40's. All they would do is one hand-off after another, after another. There was about one or two passing attempts only in the first half. For a while I was expecting Ronald Reagan to jump onto the field with a leather helmet on. Also quite bizarre, the Army offense would get set to hike the ball, only to kneel down and look towards the sideline for the coach to call a play via two large signs that they would flash up, which would allow for everyone, including the opposing team, to see what play they were calling and pick up on their patterns. I just hope the United States Army isn't tipping their hand like that on real battlefields.
After a silly halftime show we didn't pay any attention to was over, the monster canon went off again to tell everyone to get ready for the start of the third quarter. It seemed that most of the action was already passed as both teams only put up three points in the third quarter and went into the final one with a 20-13 Ball State lead. Watching a string of ugly football being played and Army's tiresome hand-off only offense, we started to make way to the car so we wouldn't have the long journey behind a crowd. Army was down 27-13, but as we were leaving the stadium we heard the canon fire and the crowd (what was left of them) cheer. Turns out Army scored a touchdown to bring the score closer to 27-20 and were only another touchdown away from tying the score. Still, it wasn't enticing enough for us to turn back so we continued onto the car. The only small victory this time was that in walking back we would be heading downhill instead of going upwards. As soon as we got into the car we turned on the radio we heard Army was marching down the field and was prime to tie the score. One of their rare passing attempts of the game was almost caught for a game-tying touchdown, but the Army player couldn't handle it and that was about as close as it got for the Black Knights.
With that drive gone, Ball State got the ball and went down towards their end zone, settling for a field goal to increase their lead 30-20. Although Army added two points on a safety, they ultimately went down by a score of 30-22 to drop to a 1-7 record. Meanwhile, we were in the car stuck in a lane that wasn't moving at all!! There were a line of cars and buses in front of us and we couldn't figure out what the hold up was. A military police jeep approached us from the opposite lane and my uncle asked them what the problem was. The man in the jeep reported that a six-year old girl had gone missing, so as a result the put the entire base on lock down, with nobody getting out until she was located. I can understand the reasoning, but it was quite torturous standing there for the forty minutes. I made the best of it by exiting the car and taking advantage of the Hudson River which was in full view from the road we were on. Soon enough, I saw vehicles turning their lights on and moving forward ever so slowly. I hopped back into the car and finally we were able to leave the base. I would guess that meant the girl had been found, but we didn't hear any confirmation on that as we left.
I was just happy I didn't have to spend a night in the brig...
For some reason I always thought West Point was way upstate, like Albany, and would take several hours to reach. After printing out the driving directions I saw the journey should take a little over an hour. We ended up taking the 1-87 North and then switched over to the Palisades Parkway North, near Bear Mountain, then after Route 6 East, all which included a scenic view of trees changing colors as we end into the final months of the year. Just as the directions predicted, we were in the town of West Point in just about an hour and had to painstakingly trail a car adhering to the 30mph speed limit. With the road leading into the town only having one lane, we were unfortunately stuck behind this one vehicle for quite a while. We had directions, but weren't actually sure where the stadium was located, so once we saw some guys tossing a football around in a parking lot, we decided to park near them and ask. The place looked like some type of welcoming center, and beyond that there was a sign indicating that there was a museum on grounds, so with about two hours to waste before game time, we went around to check everything out. It turns out the stadium was just a few minutes down the road we were on, so we were able to take our time in the visiting center and museum.
First we started out with the center, there's a big information desk once you get in for any questions or directions. Towards the right there's a gift shop which mainly sells items and gear related to the Black Knights Army Football team. To the left is a mini-museum, an educational walk-through of the United States Military's history as well as a summary of what West Point cadets have to go through if they choose to attend the academy. Where as under typical college circumstances,incoming college students bring their Playstation and Xbox and other amenities of home, with the military academy you only bring yourself and that's it! The academy provides cadets with everything else, right down to the deodorant and toothpaste. There's also a looping video of what each cadet has to go through on daily basis, to persuade or dissuade anybody thinking of making the leap. We make a quick stop to the gift shop before heading out to the museum. Under normal circumstances the museum on Saturdays doesn't open until 10:30am and we would've had to wait a little, but luckily for some reason on this particular day they had it open already at 9:30am and we were able to go in without waiting. Admission is free and there's three floors worth of stuff to look at. There's plenty of really old stuff going back to hundreds and hundreds of years ago, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to use any flash on my camera as it could potentially damage something, but since there weren't any signs, I snapped away.
The main floor and the upstairs contain a wide spectrum of uniforms, weapons, and military gear from the days to the knights in shinning armor to modern times. The best the museum has to offer is located in the basement level. In addition to the bathroom and water fountains, there really explosive stuff is down there. Once you enter you're immediately confronted with canons and all sorts of field artillery, mainly from the Civil War. Then there's jeeps, early-model tanks, and then for good measure an actual Atomic Bomb!! Hoping it wasn't active, I walked over and went nose-to-nose with these little toy I've heard so much about from history books and movies. I thought it would be a little bigger, its actually about the size of one of those supped-up BBQ grills that real barbecue fanatics use. Towards the back wall they had all sorts of machine guns, from semi-automatic to these big gargantuan things that someone like Rambo would carry around. Not to be outdone, there was also a wall dedicated to bazookas and other type of anti-tank weapons that I've only seen in movies. In all, there were enough guns in the West Point Museum to supply a small army in any generation. If anyone has the burning desire to see what an atomic bomb looks like and has no time machine to go back to 1945 Japan, then this is the place to go.
Game time was closing in at an hour away, so we left the World War II jeep behind and went back to the car to make way to Michie Stadium. Unlike the welcome center and museum, the football stadium is on the actual military academy grounds, hence on a military base that we needed to be screened at a checkpoint before entering. They have those bomb-detectors they scan under vehicles with, plus I saw they were searching the trunks of some of the other cars. The soldier we had come up to us just asked to see drivers licenses/IDs and only took a quick peek at the backseat. He waived us through without asking to look in the trunk or scanning under the vehicle, I guess we didn't look creepy enough. When we drove through there was a toll-booth like structure had to pass under, so I'm sure there were invisible scanners we passed through to get a nice jolt of radiation in our bodies for the game. Since we didn't any have special parking pass, we had to take the the generic parking spot towards the end of the campus which cost twenty-bucks and requires a mile long march to the stadium. It was about a ten-minute drive from the entrance to the actual lot, and nearly another twenty minutes walking to the stadium. Although the view of the Hudson River, the mountains, and the foliage changing color was spectacular, that walk up hill after hill towards Michie Stadium was a military-style workout in itself. There are shuttle buses which run from some of the lots to the stadium, but we opted to walk it, not knowing how grueling it would actually be. We saw the living quarters for what would have to be the high-ranking officials on base. Military Police personnel were station at some of the corners to direct traffic, and one of them barked at us for not crossing at the crosswalk. Apparently, he would have a stroke if he ever saw how people crossed streets in a small city called New York.
As we walked along a large pond I begun to see the stadium and noticed lines began to form near the entrance gate. In front of us, cadets dressed in white with their hats on seemed to make up the bulk of the crowd. At the gate, there's another security check like most other sporting events, but I guess since its a military event, they require IDs for people eighteen and over. Not knowing this, my uncle actually left his in the car, and with another long walk to the car too painful to imagine, he decided to go forward and see what would happen. It turns out since I was with him and did have my ID, they allowed him to enter after asking me if I could vouch for him. After that battle we were in the main area which is geared towards the fans, especially kids. There were some jungle-gyms and bouncy houses for kids to hop around in. There was also a tent were kids (and probably adults too) could go in and get their faces painted in camo for the game. We still had time to kill before kickoff so we grabbed some beers and sandwiches and hung out by the pond. I had a sausage-n-peppers hero with a Bud Light. My uncle spotted fish in the water, while waiting for the game to start, we tossed some bread to them to pass the time. Then all of a sudden, a canon shot off across the pond which almost made me drop my beer and hero into the water. I felt as if my chest caved in and I had to make sure my heart didn't jump out of my mouth. The explosion is their way of saying its ten minutes to game time - everyone get to your seats. They don't allow beer inside the stadium itself, so I had to down my Bud Light quickly. I saw other fans didn't want to depart with their beers, so they just stood outside and drank (and several just stayed out there all game to drink).
All the army cadets were confided to their section which was a sea of white hats and white shirts, with the army marching band nearby. The Ball State fans were stationed behind one of the end zones and stuck out with their redness. Our seats we along the side view of the field near the end zone that the Ball State fans were seated. With tickets for NFL games about the same price as buying a new BMW, for the price of a college game its a great opportunity to get close to the field without having to take out a third mortgage. Overall the stadium was quite empty, and with Army posting a 1-6 record in that point of the season, I could understand why. The cadets and marching band members were standing all game long, other "citizens" were allowed to sit down. Ball State jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and scored two touchdowns on their first two drives of the game. It looked like it was going to be a blowout, but Army did score a touchdown of their own in the first quarter and went into half-time trailing by a manageable 17-10 score. After an Army touchdown, the canon in the stadium as well as that friendly monster canon across the pond, each fire a shot to celebrate the score. The main problem the Black Knights was that they couldn't throw the football at all. It was a real throw-back to football in the 1930's and 40's. All they would do is one hand-off after another, after another. There was about one or two passing attempts only in the first half. For a while I was expecting Ronald Reagan to jump onto the field with a leather helmet on. Also quite bizarre, the Army offense would get set to hike the ball, only to kneel down and look towards the sideline for the coach to call a play via two large signs that they would flash up, which would allow for everyone, including the opposing team, to see what play they were calling and pick up on their patterns. I just hope the United States Army isn't tipping their hand like that on real battlefields.
After a silly halftime show we didn't pay any attention to was over, the monster canon went off again to tell everyone to get ready for the start of the third quarter. It seemed that most of the action was already passed as both teams only put up three points in the third quarter and went into the final one with a 20-13 Ball State lead. Watching a string of ugly football being played and Army's tiresome hand-off only offense, we started to make way to the car so we wouldn't have the long journey behind a crowd. Army was down 27-13, but as we were leaving the stadium we heard the canon fire and the crowd (what was left of them) cheer. Turns out Army scored a touchdown to bring the score closer to 27-20 and were only another touchdown away from tying the score. Still, it wasn't enticing enough for us to turn back so we continued onto the car. The only small victory this time was that in walking back we would be heading downhill instead of going upwards. As soon as we got into the car we turned on the radio we heard Army was marching down the field and was prime to tie the score. One of their rare passing attempts of the game was almost caught for a game-tying touchdown, but the Army player couldn't handle it and that was about as close as it got for the Black Knights.
With that drive gone, Ball State got the ball and went down towards their end zone, settling for a field goal to increase their lead 30-20. Although Army added two points on a safety, they ultimately went down by a score of 30-22 to drop to a 1-7 record. Meanwhile, we were in the car stuck in a lane that wasn't moving at all!! There were a line of cars and buses in front of us and we couldn't figure out what the hold up was. A military police jeep approached us from the opposite lane and my uncle asked them what the problem was. The man in the jeep reported that a six-year old girl had gone missing, so as a result the put the entire base on lock down, with nobody getting out until she was located. I can understand the reasoning, but it was quite torturous standing there for the forty minutes. I made the best of it by exiting the car and taking advantage of the Hudson River which was in full view from the road we were on. Soon enough, I saw vehicles turning their lights on and moving forward ever so slowly. I hopped back into the car and finally we were able to leave the base. I would guess that meant the girl had been found, but we didn't hear any confirmation on that as we left.
I was just happy I didn't have to spend a night in the brig...
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