Black Friday

For years America’s best sports tradition has been the rivalry between the Black Knights from West Point and the Midshipmen from Annapolis where the Army versus Navy football game was dubbed “America’s Game”.  Gone are the days when America’s service academies were national powerhouses, but the game will forever hold a place in American culture.  Generations ago, both Army and Navy were football powerhouses, combining for four national championships.  The term Black Friday wasn’t in common use nationwide before 1985, however it was known in Philadelphia, where the Army Navy game was hosted in the city 89 of the 122 contests.  This made sense, as Philadelphia was roughly equidistant from the two academies.  This game was historically played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (a date on which most other major college football teams end their regular seasons).  In the early 1950s, this game attracted more than 100,000 people, filling John F. Kennedy Stadium…