Navy wearing Jolly Rogers themed uniform for the Army-Navy Game

[y_p_w]

I do remember when they had a Blue Angels themed uniform, but this one might just top it.

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...vy-midshipmen-uniforms-jolly-rogers-navy-army

https://navysports.com/news/2024/12/14/football-today-in-navy-varsity-athletics.aspx

 

[y_p_w]

Looks like they’re wearing this patch.

 

[Passport1]

Go Navy! Beat Army!

 

[Bud]

Go Army, Beat Navy!

 

[Dodgetracker]

Go Army beat Navy.

 

[y_p_w]

So watching the game, I’ve noticed that players are wearing different patches. Navy’s starting quarterback is wearing an 82nd Airborne patch for some reason. OK, found a list. I’m guessing maybe a tribute to a relative. And nobody is wearing a Jolly Rogers patch, not even uniform #24 like in the photos. One patch isn’t military (US Secret Service).

https://navysports.com/news/2024/12/10/navy-football-patch-list-for-the-army-navy-game.aspx

 

[Astro14]

This one totally topped the Blue Angels.

The video release was awesome:



As a former Jolly Roger - my first fleet squadron, and where I flew my first combat missions - I was thrilled to see the “Bones” represented.

Even better - on the sidelines was Ensign Jack Ernie. Shown here with the Squadron at the game. Two silver oak leaves would be the CO and XO, but there were several JOs, too.

 

[Astro14]

I got a photo with Jack and a couple of JOs at the Oceana Air Show this September.

And I may or may not have spent several hundred dollars on Jolly Roger-themed Under Armour gear from the Midshipman store when this uniform was announced.

I watched the whole game. A game which Army was heavily favored to win. And I loved the Army uniforms that paid homage to the 101st.

In the 1962 Army-Navy Game, a then-unknown* Navy QB, a sophomore, had the Jolly Roger on his helmet. Army was heavily favored to win that one, too, but Navy pulled out a 34-14 win, largely because of brilliant play by the QB.

So, don’t bet against the Jolly Rogers!


*That winning kid went on to a long NFL career. His name was Roger Staubach.

 

[y_p_w]

This one totally topped the Blue Angels.

The video release was awesome:



As a former Jolly Roger - my first fleet squadron, and where I flew my first combat missions - I was thrilled to see the “Bones” represented.

Even better - on the sidelines was Ensign Jack Ernie. Shown here with the Squadron at the game. Two silver oak leaves would be the CO and XO, but there were several JOs, too.

View attachment 254607

That's just a little bit gruesome.

 

[Astro14]

That's just a little bit gruesome.

For a group that risks their lives on a daily basis, and flies in combat?

Not really.

The Jolly Rogers are a tight group. Jack Ernie is a rallying point.

When our former CO retired as a 3-star (Vice Admiral) I put together a “Green Light” - a no notice surprise party which he was hosting, like it or not - and one of the most important guests was Ensign Jack Ernie.

In order to get Jack from his guardians, I gave the skipper of VFA-103 the keys to my car to allay his fears about “The Bones” being stolen or lost.

We had a lot of fun that night, nearly twenty years after we had come back from Desert Storm, and we kept the admiral up into the wee hours of the morning.

If you’re a Jolly Roger - you get it.

If you’re not - I can’t explain it to you.

 

[Number_35]

I got a photo with Jack and a couple of JOs at the Oceana Air Show this September.

View attachment 254608

And I may or may not have spent several hundred dollars on Jolly Roger-themed Under Armour gear from the Midshipman store when this uniform was announced.

I watched the whole game. A game which Army was heavily favored to win. And I loved the Army uniforms that paid homage to the 101st.

In the 1962 Army-Navy Game, a then-unknown* Navy QB, a sophomore, had the Jolly Roger on his helmet. Army was heavily favored to win that one, too, but Navy pulled out a 34-14 win, largely because of brilliant play by the QB.

So, don’t bet against the Jolly Rogers!


*That winning kid went on to a long NFL career. His name was Roger Staubach.

Roger Staubach was slated to appear on the cover of LIFE magazine in late November 1963, but was bumped by slain president JFK.

 

[y_p_w]

For a group that risks their lives on a daily basis, and flies in combat?

Not really.

The Jolly Rogers are a tight group. Jack Ernie is a rallying point.

When our former CO retired as a 3-star (Vice Admiral) I put together a “Green Light” - a no notice surprise party which he was hosting, like it or not - and one of the most important guests was Ensign Jack Ernie.

In order to get Jack from his guardians, I gave the skipper of VFA-103 the keys to my car to allay his fears about “The Bones” being stolen or lost.

We had a lot of fun that night, nearly twenty years after we had come back from Desert Storm, and we kept the admiral up into the wee hours of the morning.

If you’re a Jolly Roger - you get it.

If you’re not - I can’t explain it to you.

Apologies. I didn't mean anything more than a lighthearted comment more in the line of "Whoa! Human bones as a mascot." I understood what it meant. Obviously such a display makes one think of the meaning of service and sacrifice.

And yeah I get how there might be fears of something that unique being lost or stolen. As a Cal grad, I heard of the story of when some Stanford people stole a taxidermy grizzly bear from the student union at UC Berkeley. It was seen occasionally on the back of a pickup truck near their campus before it was eventually returned in San Francisco. To this day nobody knows exactly who stole it, but word was that it was stashed away and moved repeatedly for a couple of years. And the trophy for the winner of each game between Cal and Stanford was originally an object that had been stolen.

https://stanfordmag.org/contents/who-stole-the-bear