Midshipmen

"Midfielder Bryce Dabbs #5 of the Navy Midshipmen and his teammates sing their school song after losing to University of Maryland Terrapins, 11-8, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on April 5, 2013 in Annapolis, Maryland."

This weekend I shot a lot of sports locally and I am trying wanted to get back on the routine of posting regularly here.

As I was covering an action-packed college lacrosse game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Navy Midshipmen, I kept noticing that Navy had a very strong bond amongst them. Everytime they scored, whether winning or losing, their bench reacted as if it was the game-winning goal each and every time.

I kept wanting to venture over there and get in the mix of the celebration to document their team support. But as the game went on, I wasn't sure how the image would translate if they did end up losing.

When time expired, Navy had lost the tight game. As I was walking off the field to go transmit, I overheard the Maryland coach telling his players to take off their helmets and show respect to Navy. I wasn't quite sure why. The Midshipmen walked toward the crowd and took off their helmets, too. Again, never covering Navy sports, I wasn't sure what was about to happen.

I quickly realized it was school pride gesture, as they placed their hands over their hearts and sung their school song. Despite losing, they were still proud of their effort and showed their class, respect.

Moments like this is why I love covering sports - sometimes it's less about the actual game than we often think.