The annual Army-Navy game is always a special event on the calendar of college football, as the two venerable service academies have been playing the official regular season curtain-closer for quite a while now. As both teams have turned this into an opportunity to display new jerseys for the big game in recent years, this has also been unique from a uniform perspective.
The Navy was the first to announce their uniform for the big game this year and it's just a throwback-inspired look at first glance. The shirts and trousers are about as old-school as they can get. The uniform was inspired by what the team wore in the 1960s, and it's only obvious from looking at the stripes of the chest. They're certainly thinner than the stripes of the shoulder you see on existing uniforms, and they're going a little longer than the stripes of the shoulder you usually see.
But where this uniform shines is the design of the helmet. While just going with a throwback helmet and leaving it at that would be one thing, the Navy and Under Armor wanted to go one step further. To pay tribute to the Heisman Trophy, each helmet is hand-painted. It goes back to the feel of the 60s, as Joe Bellino and Roger Staubach, two Heisman Trophy winners from the Navy who both won the trophy during the 1960s.
In fact, with their numbers painted on the front of the helmet, both Bellino and Staubauch are depicted. Combine that with the iconic Navy anchor emblem being painted on and this helmet is what separates these uniforms from most other uniforms inspired by throwback. It also makes it a perfect way to top off the season-long, 150-year celebration of college football.
Most teams did their part to pay tribute to the old days of college football, but the Navy was one of the few who really spent a game celebrating one of their classic looks.
After the Navy Midshipmen's impressive reveal, you have to wonder if the Army will also have a throwback-inspired uniform ready to go for the big rivalry match. In reality, it would be great to see two powerhouses come together from the old college football guard to embrace their gridiron history.
Unlike the Navy, this game is usually used by the Army to experiment with new looks. However, when it comes to making matching uniforms for the Army-Navy Match, Under Armor and Nike are not necessarily on the same exact line. We're going to see what the Army has in mind really soon, but you have to say we are hoping from the Black Knights for a throwback-inspired look.
Either way, the Navy has set the bar for this year's game with their uniforms. It is one of those uniforms in which it is very important to pay attention to the specifics. It may be a simple look from a distance, but if you really get close to this uniform and particularly the helmets, you start to get why this is such a good piece of uniform football design.
