Moore County couple Rick and Robin Clapp have a whole squadron of Army ties in their life.
Rick is a 1977 West Point Graduate and spent 30 years with the Army Corps of Engineers. Their sons, Rick and Timothy, are serving on active duty in the Army. Their daughter, Katherine, is married to a retired Army officer. Rick’s brother also went to West Point as well. Their grandson is a current Cadet at the University of North Georgia.
So the roots were planted early, an appropriate phrase considering they have a homestead and barn in which to help their daughter run a business selling flowers, vegetables and pumpkins.
On the roof of that barn lies a phrase that’s projected straight to the heavens, a cheer that every Army cadet is familiar with and that puts them on the front lines of fandom.
GO ARMY BEAT NAVY
Because of having a family member involved in a military assignment, Rick and Robin can’t show their faces, but were glad to send WRAL pictures of the barn when they got snow recently, launching an idea for a story.
The sign consists of 8-foot-tall letters made of laser-cut aluminum that took about seven months to build. Myrick Construction led the way on the project, creating the letters and mounting them on the roof. It was finished in February.
The Clapps know that private jets fly in and out of Moore County frequently for golfers. Rick knows those on the way to nearby Fort Liberty are often in the air and hopes they get a kick out of seeing it.
“I remember taking trips when I was a kid and taking trips past Chattanooga and they have a tourist attraction there called Rock City,” he said. There used to be signs there on the roofs of barns that said, ‘see Rock City.’ That kind of stuck with me. When we were building our barn, that just occurred to me that it’d be a great place to display a sign like that.”
The academies meet for the 125th time on Saturday in the battle for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. A win would cement the program’s best season since the 1940s when there were back-to-back national championships from 9-0 records. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to attend.
While most North Carolinians are familiar with rivalries like Duke/North Carolina and North Carolina/NC State, there’s just as much fervor around this one, and with both teams having good seasons, there’s an extra buzz coming into this season’s game.
The Clapps are relishing the run. Rick never saw Army beat Navy during his time at West Point, but a win Saturday would check a necessary box for a memorable season. Most players on the field for the game won’t play professionally, making this a Super Bowl of sorts for the teams that have played annually since 1930.
Since its inception in 1890, Army has spent most of its time as an independent in the college football world, save for a stint in Conference USA from 1998 to 2004. This year’s rise has carried a high-profile ascension for the program.
“It’s been fantastic,” Rick said of following the team this year. “The Army-Navy rivalry and the teams themselves are kind of cyclical.”
The American Athletic Conference champion Black Knights have created many memories for fans this year. Under 11th-year coach Jeff Monken, they won the first conference title in the 134-year history of the program with a run-heavy attack on offense. This year’s squad can become the first in program history to win 12 games in a season.
That’s all well and good, but window dressing compared to what’s coming Saturday.
“Beat Navy!” Rick says emphatically as a sign-off.
The game kicks off at 3 p.m. at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
