“Army – Stanford Football” 14•Sept.•13

Army players reach to touch the plaque bearing a quote from General George Marshall on the field prior to their game against Stanford in Michie Stadium at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY on Saturday, September 14, 2013. The plaque reads, “I want An Officer For A Secret And Dangerous Mission. I Want A West Point Football Player.”  Stanford defeated Army 34 – 20.  © Chet Gordon/TIMES HERALD-RECORD

Sometimes the best images of the day aren’t made of the home team or even during game action (above). Covered the much anticipated Army – Stanford football game on Saturday. Talk about having butterflies in preparing for one of the biggest college football games I could remember covering in my career. I mean John Elway made the trip up to watch his school compete against Army at West Point. And this would be my first game of the season, after a few early morning practices, media day and their Spring practice and scrimmage season earlier this year. Although I’ve worked four consecutive Army – Navy games at this newspaper (and if scheduling allows, perhaps this year’s game in December down in Philadelphia again), as well as games at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands, and many years of pro sports & playoffs, this past Saturday’s game at West Point kept me awake the night before, and had me up well before the pre-dawn alarm set on my iPhone. Although I felt a little rusty in the first quarter, it turned out to be a good day for images. One of the most memorable parts of the day was kicking it out around with Sports Illustrated contributing photographer David Bergman and his assistant in the photographer’s workroom for about 2 hours after the game while we were editing our take…   ~cg.

Here’s a slideshow of the day:

Leave a Reply