The Navy Midshipmen will unveil new uniforms for their 115th showdown with the Army Black Knights.
The custom made Under Armour getups will heavily feature the first Navy Jack, also known as the "Don't Tread On Me" flag. The patriotic jerseys come just a year after a former Navy SEAL said the famed special forces operators were told not to wear a patch of the same flag.
The Don't Tread On Me design covers all of the equipment the Midshipmen will take the field in. "The gear is as American as Duke Nukem fist-fighting a crepe iron," Bleacher Report's Dan Carson said. Many of those reacting on Twitter agreed with Carson's assessment.
Navy's helmet for the Army game is USA USA USA pic.twitter.com/kjvQknv3Gz
— Paul Myerberg (@PaulMyerberg) December 9, 2014
Navy's "Don't Tread On Me" @UAFootball unis for #ArmyNavy. Player names will be on the back. http://t.co/MLeJpSY1GC pic.twitter.com/aW1VrzeRYB — Navy Athletics (@NavyAthletics) December 9, 2014
The @UAFootball cleats to go with @NAVYequipment new unis #uniswag pic.twitter.com/VLHyRGYZPe
— Uniswag (@Uniformswag) December 9, 2014
"Boom" best unis of the year thanks to @UnderArmour. #beatArmy pic.twitter.com/NlS5EaXtoO
— Mike Judge (@CoachMikeJudge) December 9, 2014
This game stands alone. @NavyAthletics #ProtectThisHouse pic.twitter.com/MYghFsZkf9
— UA Football (@UAFootball) December 8, 2014
The @UAFootball "Don't Tread On Me" uniform that Navy football will wear for #ArmyNavy. http://t.co/MLeJpSY1GC pic.twitter.com/mFGqiuTjlf
— Navy Athletics (@NavyAthletics) December 8, 2014
"Why would ranking SEAL commanders ban the historical symbol?" former SEAL Carl Higbie wrote in the Daily Caller after receiving an email he said included a ban on wearing the Don't Tread On Me patch. "Is the proverbial top bass banning the flag?"
"Is President Obama?"
"As of September 2013, all Naval Special Warfare personnel are authorized to wear the U.S. flag and the "Don’t Tread on me" uniform patches," Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Flaherty told Navy Times in response Higbie's piece. Another official anonymously told the Times that the confusion happened when "a senior enlisted sailor misinterpreted the Navy’s uniform wear regulations for the Navy working uniform Type III."
Since that time the popularity of the patches has surged, according to the Washington Post. The Navy has even had to order new patches to keep up with the demand.