I think I've said this before, and I'll probably say it again...
The service academies get a lot of mileage out of providing officers to our nation's military. Oddly, as a former officer, I have almost no affinity for the service academies. Every year I wonder whether I should cheer for the Naval Academy, where a great grandfather and (much more recently) a second cousin graduated, or the Military Academy, where several of my friends/brothers-in-arms graduated. On the other hand, I knew a bunch more colleagues who graduated at West Point who did their college football team no favors in helping me support it. I tend towards supporting the Middies, but--in all honesty--I've been happy to see the Cadets win a couple lately (part of that is because I typically like the underdog).
My grandfather was an Army ROTC grad and wore his UC-Berkeley class ring his entire life, I suspect in response to the Military Academy graduates who wore their class rings (derisively referred to as "Ring Knockers"). He made his career in the Army, and while his status as an ROTC, rather than West Point, grad didn't stop him from rising to the top, I'm sure it was a source of tension/concern for him. Nonetheless, he was a big advocate for West Point. There was always a funny tension for him about it.
Anyway, I've grown tired of the overblown, and in my mind faux, patriotism attached to the Army-Navy game, and the service academy football teams, generally. It's a long time since SLA George Marshall (*may have*) wanted an Army football player for tough missions.
Bah humbug.