American soccer fans adopted “I believe that we will win” as a rallying cry for Team USA during July’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil, but as it turns out, the slogan dates back to 1998 at the Naval Academy, thanks to then-Midshipman 4th Class Jay Rodriguez. According to ESPN, the chant debuted at the 1999 Army-Navy football game, lead by Rodriguez’s friend and academy cheerleader, Corey Strong. It’s been adopted by numerous teams since then, but if one university has its way, no one else will be using the slogan in the future. San Diego State is vying for a trademark…
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The 86-pound trophy – you read that right, 86 pounds – is the result of eight weeks and some hard work by a creative team of 30 workers with Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries. A group of them traveled to San Diego for the Michigan State-North Carolina game, with the trophy securely packaged for the cross-country trek. LaMar Smith, a graphic designer with the Newport News, Va., shipbuilder, came up with the idea for the trophy. He wanted to incorporate the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson – the game’s host – into the design and have…
Organizers of the Quicken Loans Carrier Classic game and ESPN were thrilled Thursday that a Pacific storm might hold off any rain until well beyond the basketball game’s tip-off at 4:15 p.m. Pacific time Friday on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in San Diego. A rainy forecast had threatened to force the season opener between Michigan State and the University of North Carolina to the hangar deck below. But by midday Thursday, throngs of journalists converged on the flight deck on a comfortably balmy day for pregame activities that included a press conference with team officials…
When the Navy agreed to hold an NCAA basketball game on the flight deck of the carrier Carl Vinson, one probably could have gotten decent odds against the prospect of rain in San Diego on Veterans Day. Now there’s an 80 percent chance, and it’s looking like the highly anticipated North Carolina-Michigan State game could get bumped downstairs to the much smaller hangar deck. That’s bad news for some ticket holders — just about all of them military personnel — because only 4,000 or 5,000 of the 7,000 who could attend topside would be able to squeeze into the hangar…
The Michigan State and North Carolina men’s basketball teams will wear school-color camouflage-style uniforms to honor the military during their Nov. 11 Veterans Day clash aboard the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in San Diego. On Monday, the Spartans showed off the camouflage-patterned unis they’ll wear — white with a light green pattern and bordered with the school’s traditional dark green. North Carolina’s design, unveiled Oct. 26, will feature a deep blue camouflage pattern over the traditional Carolina blue. Neither team will have player names on the back of the jerseys. Replacing the names will be “U.S.A.”,…
Possibly coming next season to a flattop deck near you (if you’re stationed in San Diego): That’s right: If you’re in the right place at the right time next fall, you could be watching a choice early season matchup between traditional men’s college basketball powers North Carolina and Michigan State aboard a Navy carrier. Will it happen? According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said Monday, “It hasn’t been announced yet, but we’re supposed to be playing Michigan State in San Diego on an aircraft carrier on Veterans Day next year.” But nothing’s been set as…
