FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Dec. 8, 2016) -- If you are a fan of Army football, nothing matters more than singing second. It's a service academy tradition where the losing team sings their alma mater first and then crosses the field to where the victors "sing second" in celebration of a hard-fought game.
"Sing Second" has become the Army Black Knights' mantra, and something they haven't been able to accomplish in 14 straight contests against the Navy Midshipmen. Some Fort Drum officers who commissioned from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point believe all of that will change this Saturday during the 117th Army-Navy Game.
"I think this is Army's year," said Maj. Kyle Upshaw, 10th Mountain Division (LI) G9 engagements officer. "Our defense is going to have to step it up, and I think our offense has proven that they are more than capable."
He said he is encouraged by the team's improvement from last year's 2-9 season and the confidence that players have demonstrated on the field. The Black Knights have a 6-5 overall record, the program's highest since 2010, and it was just announced that Army secured their first college bowl appearance since that same year. Army will challenge North Texas in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Dec. 27.
Upshaw can recall a more dominating Black Knights team when he was a cadet. During his freshman year at the academy in 1996, Army recorded a 10-2 season and earned the Commander in Chief's trophy by defeating both Navy and Air Force.
"We haven't had a team since that compares to that amazing team," he said. "Our only two losses that year were against Syracuse that had senior Donovan McNabb at the helm, and against Auburn in the Independence Bowl."
Upshaw attended four Army-Navy Games as a cadet, and he was a member of the last class that could claim a 2-2 record against Navy. Since graduating in 2000, he has tried to watch the game every year.
"I watched with a bunch of other West Point grads while I was deployed to Liberia with the 101st Airborne Division headquarters during Operation United Assistance in 2014," he said. "Fighting Ebola didn't stop us from rooting for our favorite team."
Upshaw said that he attended the game in Philadelphia only a year before his deployment, when the temperature at kickoff was 28 degrees F and the ground was covered with sleet.
"Absolutely miserable, but still fun cheering on the Army team," he said. "At the time, hanging out with three of my closest West Point classmates was a great time, and I never would have guessed that the next year I'd be deployed to Africa."
Capt. Victor Ugenyi, from 41st Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, has kept current on all things Army Football since graduating from West Point in 2010. While stationed in Germany, or deployed to Afghanistan and Kosovo, Ugenyi was able to either watch the game or keep track of the score and highlights.
"I watched the 2011, 2012 and 2015 Army-Navy Games while deployed," he said. "In that environment, it is one of the main things that transports you from the daily grind and makes you forget about battlefield stresses."
Ugenyi said that this year's team has experienced an emotional rollercoaster, beginning the season with a three-game win streak, mourning a teammate's death in an automobile accident and then posting back-to-back losses to the University at Buffalo and Duke.
"The team -- instilled mainly by hard-nosed coaching by (third-year Army head coach) Jeff Monken -- epitomizes what the Army is all about: precision, direct action, tenacity and fight," Ugenyi said. "Fighting through adversity has created a resilient and talented Army team."
It wasn't too long ago when Ugenyi was fighting on that same field of friendly strife as a member of the Army Black Knights. The former defensive tackle posted seven tackles in his final Army-Navy Game in 2009, and he remembers what it felt like to take part in this historic rivalry.
"It's like nothing I could ever dream of, or like anything I have done since my time at the academy," Ugenyi said. "Fans are yelling nonstop, your classmates, family, friends and spectators are cheering you on, and you never once feel tired (because) you feed off the energy of the crowd."
His younger brother, Mike, also played for Army and graduated last year. Ugenyi was able to coach his sibling at the academy's preparatory school in 2010-2011 as an assistant coach.
"Nowadays, we have both gone through the gauntlet and understand what it takes to win," Ugenyi said. "We mainly talk about schemes and formations we see, the evolution of the game, and which defensive player was better during their time and why. Each team is different, and that conversation keeps us gainfully employed this time of year."
The game can be viewed locally on CBS, starting at 3 p.m. It also airs worldwide on American Forces Network, and it can be heard live on Army Sports Network and SiriusXM Radio.
Ugenyi will watch the game with his fiancé from the comfort of his home, but Capt. Matthew Joiner, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade commander's aide, will be among thousands in attendance at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. He said that he looks forward to reuniting with some friends and colleagues before the game.
"It's always great to catch up with people you haven't seen in a long time at an event so rich in tradition," he said.
Some of those traditions include the "March On," featuring the Corps of Cadets and Brigade of Midshipmen moving to formation on the field. Another pre-game activity is the "prisoner exchange" where cadets attending a semester at their sister academy join their classmates on the Army side of the stadium, while midshipmen attending West Point return to their Naval Academy brethren.
Leading up to game day, there are other traditions at the academy, to include a bonfire where they burn a sacrificial boat during a spirit rally. Afterward, the West Point Marathon team begins a cross-state trek to run a game ball hundreds of miles to the stadium in relays.
Joiner said that he always enjoyed the spirit videos made by cadets and other contributors that are posted online leading up to game day. Some are extravagantly staged and others are simple shout-outs from fans across the Army.
Many of these can be found on the academy's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/WestPoint-USMA. One spirit video, titled "You're Not You When You're Hungry," features Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, U.S. Military Academy superintendent. It has amassed more than 700,000 views.
Joiner attended the academy during the current losing streak against Navy, which he described as "years of heartbreak and defeat." He was in the stands one unforgettable Saturday when he witnessed Army almost break the losing streak.
"It was the game during my senior year when we fumbled on the 1-yard line, and (Navy) ran it back for a touchdown," Joiner recalled. "That 14-point swing cost us the game and the chance to break a 10-year drought."
Maj. Kristoffer Mills, who works with Upshaw as deputy G9, was in attendance the last time Army beat Navy -- in 2001. He recalled another memorable occasion when he participated in the March On for the 100th anniversary of the Army-Navy Game. The Class of 2002 graduate said that he has tremendous respect for the program and knows the pressure placed on the football team to break the losing streak.
He felt a little pressure himself one year while watching the game with colleagues. In 2008, Mills was stationed in Hawaii and served as an aide-de-camp to a rear admiral, who wasn't the only Navy officer in the room during the game.
"During the game I obviously stuck out as a USMA graduate and received a lot of chiding from Navy graduates, some of whom were senior Navy flag officers serving in Pacific Command and Pearl Harbor," Mills said.
Wearing a "Go Army, Beat Navy" shirt didn't help matters for Mills, either, as his team fell to Navy, 34-0.
"Despite being outnumbered 100 to 1, I held my own against a sea of Navy admirals by not being too belligerent and disrespectful," Mills said.
He plans to watch the game this year in a friendlier environment -- surrounded by Family and friends. Mills said the Army-Navy Game is called "America's Game," because it is one of the oldest rivalries in college sports.
"I have a lot of admiration for the cadets and midshipmen who will one day be the leaders of our Army, Navy and Marine Corps," he said. "I think the American people have that same admiration for the cadets and midshipmen."
"I love how it is the last regular season game in the country and for that one Saturday in December, all eyes are on, arguably, the biggest college football rivalry," Upshaw said.
Joiner is among the hopefuls that this current crop of Black Knights can secure the win this time.
"While we've had a few rough games this year, I'm confident Army will pull through with a victory," he said. "Beat Navy, Sing Second!"
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