12/12/2003 - Football
Commander-In-Chief's Trophy Back In Annapolis
Capt. Greg Cooper was celebrating Navy's convincing victory over Army
Saturday night at the team hotel in Philadelphia when he was handed marching
orders.
The mission: Go get the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy.
Navy had captured the coveted CIC as champion of the annual service academy
football competition by beating both Air Force and Army this season. Academy
officials wanted the coveted trophy on campus as soon as possible and were not
willing to wait for Air Force to send it.
Cooper, Navy's Deputy Director of Athletics, took the directive seriously. He
flew to Colorado Springs, secured the trophy, rented a U-Haul and drove the
valuable hardware back to Annapolis.
Yesterday afternoon, around 4 p.m., word filtered through Ricketts Hall that
the much-talked-about trophy was in the house for the first time since 1981.
Football players filtered out of the weight room. Athletic department higher ups
emerged from their offices. Trainers, equipment managers and other support
personnel took a break from their duties.
Eventually, a crowd of around one hundred had packed into the football locker
room to witness the unveiling. People stood on tip-toes and craned their necks
to get a glimpse as co-captains Craig Candeto and Eddie Carthan worked to
remove the officially-looking box the CIC is always shipped in.
There were a few oohs and aahs when at last the three-sided trophy was
exposed in all its sparkling brilliance. A collective cheer rang out as the three-sided,
2 1/2-foot tall, 180-pound piece of hardware was lifted onto a table for all to see.
"It's nice to finally see that trophy in our locker room," Carthan said. "We've
been talking about winning that thing for four years. It's a great feeling to finally
lay eyes on it. All the anticipation was worth it. It's a beautiful trophy."
Candeto's initial reaction was "Wow, it sure is big." He and Carthan needed
all their muscle to lift the massive box out of the U-Haul onto a dolley that was
used to wheel the CIC into Ricketts Hall.
"Seeing that trophy is a tangible reminder that we beat our two biggest rivals,
which is a great accomplishment," Candeto said. "The trophy itself is symbolic of
something much larger. An awful lot of hard work went into winning that."
Rear Admiral Rodney Rempt, the academy superintendent, reportedly intends
to display the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy in the Rotunda near the entrance of
Memorial Hall. That is a well-traveled spot that would enable the entire Brigade to
regularly see the icon.
Academy officials had attempted to have the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy
shipped to Philadelphia for a possible presentation ceremony following the
Army-Navy game.
"Air Force was understandably reluctant to do that. They wanted to wait and
make sure we beat Army before sending it out," Cooper said.
Air Force has held the CIC for 13 of the past 14 years. Reportedly, the trophy
had been bolted into a specially-designed display case located in the athletic
administration building.
During a post Army-Navy game party at the Wyndham Hotel, Rempt and
athletic director Chet Gladchuk agreed the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy needed
to be obtained right away. Cooper was dispatched and flew out of BWI Airport on
Sunday night.
Cooper admitted that Air Force athletic officials were a bit taken aback when
he showed up in Colorado Springs on Monday morning to claim the CIC. It had
already been packed into its shipping crate and was sitting in a storage area.
Lt. Col. Roger Gustafson, an assistant athletic director at Air Force, handled
the formal transfer.
"We turned the trophy over to Navy this morning. I helped load it on the back
of a U-Haul," Gustafson told the Denver Post on Monday. "There were some tears
shed when it departed. But we're saving the the same spot in our trophy case
because it will be back here next year."
Cooper had been forced to obtain a rental truck after learning that the trophy
could not be placed on a commercial flight due to its size and weight. He could
see the look of chagrin on Gustafson's face as he prepared to pull away.
"Roger shook my hand and said, `I'll see you around this time next year when
I come to get the trophy back.' I told him we would do everything in our power to
prevent him from having to make that trip," Cooper said.
Cooper made it out of Colorado Springs just in time as a massive snowstorm
hit Monday night. He took 70 East all the way across the country, passing through
seven states and the District of Columbia en route to Annapolis. He stopped to
sleep in Salina, Kan., and Zainesville, Ohio, opening the back of the U-Haul each
morning to make sure the valuable cargo was ship-shape.
"Believe me, there were times while I was driving that I thought, `If anything
bad happens, let it happen to me and not the trophy.' That thing is priceless,"
Cooper said.
Cooper's road trip wound up taking three days and about 27 hours of driving
time. It was well worth it, he said, to ensure the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy
arrived at the Naval Academy safely and securely.
"We felt it was important to get the trophy here immediately out of respect
for the efforts put forth by the coaching staff and players," Cooper said.
Groups of players waited in line to pose for pictures with the trophy. Senior
linebacker Chris Wade was using a cell phone camera to record image after image.
Candeto looked on and hoped the underclassmen understood the importance of
retaining the CIC.
"It took 22 years to get that trophy here. Hopefully, we can keep it around
for more than one year," Candeto said.
