Relishing "Rivals"

Had a wonderful time Saturday at the Smartlink "Day of Rivals" at M&T Bank Stadium.  As you can see from the line at ESPNU's  L-A-X competition (which began long before face-off) there was no shortage of kids.  Actually, youth lacrosse teams comprised a major segment of the crowd.  Rec and scholastic squads from throughout the region were sporting team colors as they streamed into the stadium.

More than 20,000 attended the doubleheader despite chilly weather and high winds.  I have no idea when the tailgating started, but the Terrapin tribe was rocking in Lot B long before I arrived.

The L-A-X attraction was a big hit.  I didn't stick around to see who ultimately triumphed, but some of those little guys could nail that ball.  The gallery of spectators and ongoing commentary made for an exciting competition even before the real rivals took the field.  Some of the best matches were father-son challenges.  I don't know if ESPNU taped any of these, but they would be fun to watch.

While walking around the stadium I was surprised to see how many cadets came down from West Point.  It's a five hour drive, but as one of them observed, it was worth getting out of Highland Falls for the weekend.  Any Army-Navy game is noteworthy for these military rivals, but coming to Baltimore was a particularly attractive road trip.  (One told me how much he enjoyed visiting Annapolis, too.)

Although Navy had the geographical advantage (particularly in the alumni ranks) USMC had quite a showing of fans -- especially  among the corps.

(It was hard to tell what the Terps were rooting for.  They sat stone faced in their warm ups as they watched the first game from behind the net, clearly in some kind of zone.  If they were trying to psyche out the wind, it didn't work.)

What I didn't see were many Blue Jay partisans.  That struck me as odd until I adjourned to my favorite comfort station to watch the rest of the game on ESPNU.  The place was full of Hopkinites, watching the opener in a comfortable setting until time to take their turn in the blustery breeze.

For some reason, that didn't occur to the Maryland folks. I'm guessing their tailgate activities kept them pretty warm.  Beanbag tossing generates a lot of BTUs.

Both games were incredibly close, but Army prevailed over Navy and Maryland managed to stave off Hopkins.  Each was decided by a single goal.

I noticed the delegation from College Park became comfortable in their little corner of Lot B.  My guess is they're planning to revisit next month.