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College Football

Photo: Navy’s hand-painted helmets are unreal

Christine Wang

By Christine Wang

Published:

One of the most famous and decorated matchups in college football is coming up this Saturday. The Army Black Knights will be playing the Navy Midshipmen in Philadelphia this weekend.

In honor of the rivalry, the football players at Navy will be wearing what could be the coolest helmets ever designed in college football history.

These hand-painted helmets are not only beautiful, but meaningful. Different position groups will wear different helmets, each with an illustration of the historic Navy ship most suited for that position. Below are pictures of each the different helmets, as well as their symbolism as explained by the Navy release: Linebacker: Cruiser Provides anti-air defense and packs the biggest punch of Naval surface ships representative of the linebackers on the Navy football team.

Defensive Back: Destroyer
Known for significant fire power, speed, and anti-missile defense as are Navy’s defensive backs.

Wide Receiver: Submarine Predominantly utilized as blockers, wide receivers play a key role in driving the Navy rush attack, taking on a stealth-like persona as they blend into the rhythm of the offense but bring significant fire power when called upon, just like a Naval submarine.

Lineman: Amphibious Assault Ships
Just as a lineman’s job is the create a hole for a running back or linebacker, these ships are utilized to establish the “beach head” that enables the invading force to gain access and ultimately accomplish their objective.

Quarterback: Aircraft Carrier The QB of the Naval Fleet, the aircraft carrier is the ultimate decision maker; the “quick strike” weapon of the Naval fleet.

Running Back: Littoral Combat Ship
Like running backs, these fast and nimble ships can navigate through both crowded shallow and deep waters.

Kicker/Special Teams: Minesweeper Much like the specific task of the Navy special teams, this small ship has a unique mission of identifying and eliminating mines.

As if these helmets weren’t enough flair for Navy’s uniforms, the phrase “Damn the Torpedoes!” will be featured on the uniform pants, gloves, and jersey hem. This is an homage to Admiral Farragut’s Naval victory at the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864.

These Navy uniforms may have just made up for all the bad uniforms we saw in the 2015 football season.

Christine Wang

Christine Wang is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. She covers Auburn, Arkansas and Ole Miss.

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