Fans leave politics aside at 120th Army-Navy game
People in the crowd said the game is a fabulous opportunity to revel in the “best of America.”
Saturday’s Army-Navy game kicked off one day after the House Judiciary Committee took a step toward impeaching President Donald Trump, but no one seemed in the mood to let politics intrude on tradition at South Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.
”Everybody gets along. That’s what’s nice,” said David Daniels, of Sea Isle City, who was in the Coast Guard and attends every game between the Black Knights and the Midshipmen.
Daniels and others welcome Trump’s regular attendance at the game.
”The guy might not be perfect, he is our leader and you have to respect that,” said Daniels, who owns a plumbing business that is the busiest it’s been in 10 years.
Trump entered the stadium to resounding cheers at 3 p.m. He clapped and waved as he took to the field for the singing of the national anthem as a light rain fell and then donned a red cap that read “Keep America Great” and the number 45.
Mark Anthony, of Falling Waters, W.Va., said it’s great that the nation’s 45th president comes and “supports the men and women who support America.”
“You get goose bumps when you come here,” said Anthony. “You see the best of America.”
Anthony, who works as a repairman, said he spends a fortune on beer at Army-Navy games because he loves to buy drinks for active-duty soldiers and sailors. For 14 years, he’s been coming to the games.
Julie and Gary Wideman, by contrast, were attending their first Army-Navy game, fulfilling a long-standing wish of Gary’s.
Asked why he wanted to be there, Gary said it’s patriotic and called the game “America’s greatest sporting event.”
As to the nation’s political turmoil, which has exhausted some Americans and appeared to have been checked at the gate at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday, Julie Wideman said: “I think people are just over that.”
Nevertheless, by Sunday, talk of the nation’s troubled politics will be hard to escape.
On Friday the House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment against Trump, charging him with “abuse of power" and “obstruction of justice” in 23-17 party-line votes.
The full House is expected to approve the articles of impeachment Wednesday. If that happens, it would be just the third impeachment of a president in U.S. history.
A Senate trial is slated for next month, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday told Fox News there was “zero chance” of Trump’s removal from office.