The annual Army-Navy football game will soon be upon us, and the service academy teams have released the details of their special uniforms, worn in honor of a unique aspect of the institutions’ respective histories. Despite anything that happens on the gridiron, the Army Black Knights will show up dressed to kill, while the Navy Midshipmen disappoint their fan base once more.
The two teams will be headed into their 124th matchup on Dec. 9, 2023. Since Nike started giving the teams Pro Combat sets in 2011, they’ve both donned special uniforms for their big game. And almost every year since, Army has simply outclassed Navy in terms of simplicity and good design.
Make no mistake: This assessment has nothing to do with what the uniforms are actually honoring. Year after year, Navy’s execution just leaves something to be desired.
This year, the Navy uniform pays tribute to the service’s submarine force, also known as the “Silent Service,” with uniforms made by Under Armour. The Midshipmen’s entire uniform will be “flooded with Eclipse Navy (UA’s darkest shade of navy blue) to mimic the covert design of a submarine hull,” according to a Navy Athletics press release.
Navy also chose a font that would mimic the classification numbers on a submarine’s hull, sleeve patches with the submarine warfare insignia, and a back neck that “features a silhouette of a submarine on top of a sonar screen dotted with stars to indicate targets,”…
