The annual Army vs. Navy rivalry has featured some memorable uniform combinations throughout the years, and this year will of course be no different. When the Black Knights and Midshipmen take the field on Saturday in Philadelphia for their annual showdown to close out the 2022 college football regular season, the threads sported by each team will again have the world buzzing.
Navy's 2022 threads are out of this world -- pun very much intended. The school released its uniforms for the showdown on Monday, and they are dedicated to the 54 Navy graduates who have gone on to become astronauts. That is, according to the school, more astronauts than any other institution has produced. You can even buy them here.
Alan Shepard, a 1944 graduate of the Naval Academy, was the first American in space in 1961 and served as one of NASA's first seven astronauts. He also landed on the moon as part of the Apollo 14 crew in 1971. Fellow graduate Bruce McCandless II was the first astronaut to go on an untethered space walk in 1985.
Navy's helmet will feature handcrafted paintings of McCandless' space walk with Earth in the background. The other side of the helmet will feature the NASA logo.
The uniform, which will be white with red stripes and blue American flag markings, is designed to resemble a space walk uniform. The pants will include the NASA astronaut pin that was given to some of America's earliest astronauts upon returning. Players will also wear shoes designed to look similar to boots that astronauts wear while on a mission.
Take a look at the hype video for Navy's uniforms below:
Army's uniforms are dedicated to the soldiers of 1st Armored Division during World War II. This is the 80th anniversary of Operation Torch, which was the start of the United States' ground operations in Europe and North Africa. The "Iron Soldiers" defeated Axis forces in North Africa in harsh, desert conditions.
Approximately 125,000 soldiers landed in Algeria and French Morocco in November 1942 in what was the the largest amphibious landing in history at that point.
Army released a video detailing the uniforms and their historical significance on Monday.
The 123rd Army vs. Navy Game is set to be played on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The game will be broadcast live on CBS. Buy the jerseys here.
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