History
Since 1899, Army's mascot has officially been a mule because of the animal's historical importance in Army operations. The academy's football team was nicknamed "The Black Knights of the Hudson" due to the black color of its uniforms. This nickname has since been officially shortened to "Black Knights". The Army Black Knights also inspired a book The Black Knight's God: Horror Anthology.
U.S. sports media use "Army" as a synonym for the academy. "On Brave Old Army Team" is the school's fight song. Army's chief sports rival is the Naval Academy, due to its long-standing football rivalry and the inter-service rivalry with the Navy in general. Fourth class cadets verbally greet upper-class cadets and faculty with "Beat Navy", while the tunnel that runs under Washington Road is named the "Beat Navy" tunnel. In the first half of the 20th century, Army and Notre Dame were football rivals, but that rivalry has since died out.
Read more about this topic: Army Black Knights
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Let it suffice that in the light of these two facts, namely, that the mind is One, and that nature is its correlative, history is to be read and written.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“To a surprising extent the war-lords in shining armour, the apostles of the martial virtues, tend not to die fighting when the time comes. History is full of ignominious getaways by the great and famous.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)
“There is nothing truer than myth: history, in its attempt to “realize” myth, distorts it, stops halfway; when history claims to have “succeeded” this is nothing but humbug and mystification. Everything we dream is “realizable.” Reality does not have to be: it is simply what it is.”
—Eugène Ionesco (b. 1912)