Live chat: The 114th Army-Navy Game
Join me for live coverage throughout the day as one of Philadelphia's great sports traditions is renewed.
Time: 3:10 p.m. EST
Venue: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa.
TV: CBS (Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Tracy Wolfson)
Join me for live coverage throughout the day as one of Philadelphia's great sports traditions is renewed. In addition to providing commentary on the game, I'll share photos and anecdotes from all of the pregame festivities. I'll start at around noon, as Army's march-on will take place at 12:16 p.m. Navy's will follow at 12:46 p.m.
CBS Sports Network will broadcast the march-ons live during their pregame coverage, which runs from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Coverage will shift to CBS at 2:30 for their pregame show, and the game broadcast will start at 3:00.
One of the storylines before kickoff will be the coin toss. The coin that will be used has a very special story to it, as explained by Navy's athletic department:
The silver dollar that was to be flipped by President John F. Kennedy at the 1963 Army-Navy game in Philadelphia will be used for the coin toss 50 years later at the 2013 Army-Navy game.
Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on Nov. 22, 1963, eight days before he was scheduled to participate in the ceremonial coin toss on Nov. 30 in Philadelphia at the Army-Navy game. Though fans had been anticipating the Army-Navy game for months, it would have been cancelled had it not been for the late president's family insisting that President Kennedy would have wanted it played.
Following a one-week postponement, Army-Navy would take place on Dec. 7. The game was a classic with Navy (9-1) edging Army (7-3), 21-15, thanks to three touchdowns by Navy fullback Pat Donnelly. Army had the ball at the Navy two-yard line when time ran out.
A week after the win, an envelope showed up in the mailbox of Navy captain Tom Lynch. When he opened it, he found a silver dollar. Accompanying the coin was a letter from Secretary of the Army Cyrus Vance telling Lynch he wanted him to have the coin. On Saturday, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel will have the honor of flipping that same coin.
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