Every once in a while, I run across a non-political story that I feel compelled to cover. This was one of those times. The Army-Navy football game, the first of which was played on Nov. 29, 1890, at West Point, is one of the most historic rivalries in sports. Spoiler: Army’s uniforms for this year’s game are awesome.

When Army takes the field for this year’s game on December 10, the Black Knights’ uniforms will honor the famed 1st Armored Division. Army issued the following statement about the meaning behind the uniforms, as transcribed by Outkick:

The 2022 Army-Navy Uniform tells the story of the soldiers of the 1st Armored Division during World War II. This year marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Torch and the commencement of American ground operations against Axis forces in the European theater, which included North Africa.

Operation Torch marked the 1st Armored Division’s entry into the crucible of combat. The resilience, grit, and commitment demonstrated by the soldiers ultimately resulted in the defeat of Axis forces in North Africa.

In the harsh desert against a determined enemy, the members of the 1st Armored Division were forged into ‘Iron Soldiers’ and learned the lessons that would guide them to success in subsequent operations in Italy and Western Europe.

They had me at the helmet.

Credit: ArmyFootball/Twitter pic.twitter.com/pSNhK7hQ52

— MikesRight (@RealLibSmacker) November 29, 2022

The uniform’s color and the patches thereon pay homage to the famed division.

Credit: Army Football/Twitter pic.twitter.com/V5H3MzV3yP

— MikesRight (@RealLibSmacker) November 29, 2022

Here’s more, via We Are The Mighty:

The 1st Armored Division’s nickname is “Old Ironsides.” Ironically for an Army-Navy game uniform, the nickname was coined by the division’s first commander, Maj. Gen. Bruce Magruder, after he saw a picture of the USS Constitution which is nicknamed “Old Ironsides.”

the jersey’s color scheme draws inspiration from the M3 tank fielded by the 1st Armored Division in North Africa. The font on the jersey is inspired by the typography seen on the 1st Armored Division’s M3s during Operation Torch.

On the right chest, each player wears a patch with their cadet regiment number and cadet company mascot. The pants bear a 1st Armored Division insignia that mirrors the bumper number used to identify Army vehicles during WWII and today.

Finally, the entire uniform features a mud splatter that pays tribute to the harsh desert conditions that the 1st Armored Division fought through in North Africa.

Regardless of which uniform each roster wears or which team wins, both rosters will be made up of men who will wear an even more important uniform after they graduate: the uniform of the United States military.

The bottom line, even for non-sports fans, is that the Army-Navy game symbolizes all that’s good about the America in which we grew up and continue to love and respect, including the sacrifices made by the U.S. military to protect the freedoms many of us take for granted.

(This is where I’d normally go off on our embarrassing commander in chief Joe Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, but I refuse to sully the article with their  efforts to turn the greatest fighting force in the history of the planet into a watered-down organization of “wokeness.”)

Do yourself a favor and watch this short video — it’s extremely well done.