For the 112th straight year, the Army-Navy Game was special. It's always special, of course, because as cliche as it is, there really is nothing in sports quite like a battle between two football teams filled with team members who will be in far more meaningful battles in their lives. There's a sense that these players are not your typical young men, and that is correct.
At the same time, it's also football, and football is by all means a game where nobody's reactions are restrained. In all other areas of these people's lives, everything is serious. In the context of a football game, though, all the inhibitions that these men and women hold in everywhere else come out. In short: people act like kids when involved in a football game, either as players or fans. That's especially true in a game of this magnitude.
This is a long-winded lead-up to this animated GIF (via @bubbaprog) of this Navy fan celebrating his team's 27-21 victory at FedEx Field on Saturday. It's amusing, of course, because it's a crazy fan showing a hilarious display of emotion. But somehow, this is different than all other crazy fan GIFs. Much like the goofy dragon, this is a reminder that these fans are both men and kids. This is one of their few chances to act like the latter, and many are taking advantage of it.
There's something that's touching about that.
For more on the 2011 Army-Navy Game, please keep visiting this StoryStream.