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United: We'll fly Air Force to play Navy for free
United Airlines has made a free-flight offer it hopes could prevent a big-time college football game from falling victim to the U.S. government shutdown. (www.usatoday.com) More...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Kuddos for UAL!
203 miles (about 3.5 to 4 hrs if stops or delays) is long enough on a bus for me, Fritz
Jeremy ... Indeed, that may be the case for you, but you're obviously not a Cadet football player.
A 4-hour bus ride is nothing to these superbly-conditioned, disciplined, highly-motivated young men. The USMA and USNA football teams routinely travel over 200 miles by bus to play each other when their annual game is in Washington, DC (>250 miles for USMA) or East Rutherford , NJ (> 210 miles for USNA).
A 4-hour bus ride is nothing to these superbly-conditioned, disciplined, highly-motivated young men. The USMA and USNA football teams routinely travel over 200 miles by bus to play each other when their annual game is in Washington, DC (>250 miles for USMA) or East Rutherford , NJ (> 210 miles for USNA).
The game is on TV live now, Saturday from 11:30-3:00 Saturday afternoon on CBS.
First, a hearty WELL DONE to UNITED. They get it!
Second, I'm knowledgeable only about Navy's athletic programs -- I'm an alumnus. Top to bottom, they are NOT federally funded.
The "reasoning" underlying these stoppages and closures is to -- deliberately -- make the federal government shutdown as painful as possible for the American People.
The last shutdown during the mid-1990s lasted for 21 days. To the best of my knowledge no national parks, cemeteries, memorials, monuments, etc., were closed. The Service Academy football teams (and all of their other intercollegiate athletic teams) played their games. The notion that they shouldn't or wouldn't never entered anybody's mind.
You can decide for yourselves who's responsible for the impasse that caused the government shutdown, but there's only one branch of government that determined what would happen once the shutdown took place. That's the Executive Branch.
Think about it. The federal functionaries down at street level had all the acccoutrements for what they've shuttered in place and ready to go at 12:01 AM on 1 October.The signs were already printed. The yellow, "Do Not Cross" tapes were on site everywhere.
You don't think some Pentagon bureaucrat woke up last Tuesday morning and, having found out that overnight the shutdown had indeed happened, yawned and asked himself, "What can we do to make this hurt?" -- do you? Of course not. The Service Academy athletics shutdown order was already drafted and approved. It was waiting for the "SEND" key to be pressed. To borrow an expression from my West Point brothers in arms, some Pentagon DUMBSMACK pressed it.
The practicalities of canceling the Air Force-Navy game rippled far beyond a purported "tightening the Department of Defense's belt a notch or two." The game itself was (IS) a sellout. There wasn't a vacant hotel room between Annapolis and Baltimore. The area's restaurants, shops, etc. were geared up for a big weekend of business. In short, the cancellation would've been a debacle affecting thousands of American citizens in a number of ways.
There!! That's my take. Your results may differ.
Second, I'm knowledgeable only about Navy's athletic programs -- I'm an alumnus. Top to bottom, they are NOT federally funded.
The "reasoning" underlying these stoppages and closures is to -- deliberately -- make the federal government shutdown as painful as possible for the American People.
The last shutdown during the mid-1990s lasted for 21 days. To the best of my knowledge no national parks, cemeteries, memorials, monuments, etc., were closed. The Service Academy football teams (and all of their other intercollegiate athletic teams) played their games. The notion that they shouldn't or wouldn't never entered anybody's mind.
You can decide for yourselves who's responsible for the impasse that caused the government shutdown, but there's only one branch of government that determined what would happen once the shutdown took place. That's the Executive Branch.
Think about it. The federal functionaries down at street level had all the acccoutrements for what they've shuttered in place and ready to go at 12:01 AM on 1 October.The signs were already printed. The yellow, "Do Not Cross" tapes were on site everywhere.
You don't think some Pentagon bureaucrat woke up last Tuesday morning and, having found out that overnight the shutdown had indeed happened, yawned and asked himself, "What can we do to make this hurt?" -- do you? Of course not. The Service Academy athletics shutdown order was already drafted and approved. It was waiting for the "SEND" key to be pressed. To borrow an expression from my West Point brothers in arms, some Pentagon DUMBSMACK pressed it.
The practicalities of canceling the Air Force-Navy game rippled far beyond a purported "tightening the Department of Defense's belt a notch or two." The game itself was (IS) a sellout. There wasn't a vacant hotel room between Annapolis and Baltimore. The area's restaurants, shops, etc. were geared up for a big weekend of business. In short, the cancellation would've been a debacle affecting thousands of American citizens in a number of ways.
There!! That's my take. Your results may differ.
Very well said Fritz!
Which is why I greatly appreciate United's offer. It took away a major argument for those that were planning to cancel the game to crate unnecessary pain for political gain.
While I have nothing against Delta doing their job. All the major airlines fly thousands of flights every day. The gesture from United was appreciated. If the cost of flying the team had been a factor, the offer from United neutralized it. Also put the issue in the spotlight. The game couldn't have been cancelled without someone getting egg on their face and a call for heads to roll in the White House and/or the Pentagon.
There must be an AirForce alum somewhere in the offices at United, who suggested it. Smartly the guys who make the decisions agreed to go along.
Which is why I greatly appreciate United's offer. It took away a major argument for those that were planning to cancel the game to crate unnecessary pain for political gain.
While I have nothing against Delta doing their job. All the major airlines fly thousands of flights every day. The gesture from United was appreciated. If the cost of flying the team had been a factor, the offer from United neutralized it. Also put the issue in the spotlight. The game couldn't have been cancelled without someone getting egg on their face and a call for heads to roll in the White House and/or the Pentagon.
There must be an AirForce alum somewhere in the offices at United, who suggested it. Smartly the guys who make the decisions agreed to go along.