Navy survived a late comeback attempt from Air Force on Saturday, walking away with a 34-31 win. The victory brings the Midshipmen one step closer to winning the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, awarded to the team that comes out on top of the head-to-head matchups between the service academies.
If the win wasn't enough, Navy players received a visit from the government's foremost motivational speaker, Secretary of Defense—or Secretary of War if you enjoy corporate rebranding—Pete Hegseth. It's been a busy week for the secretary of swole. In between deploying troops to various liberal hellholes around the country and conducting mole hunts within his own department, Hegseth notably demanded top generals fly to Quantico from around the world just to tell them it was time to nut up or shut up in the name of defending freedom from the tyranny of woke.
Hegseth made time for the Midshipmen's game despite the U.S. government currently being closed for business, which likely could have thrown the service academies' schedules into chaos had they not shifted their athletics departments into non-profits separate from the government years earlier.
“You know what? Nothing else matters. You got it done. In fact, the best wins are the ones where it takes you out. Defense doesn't show up right away. Offense doesn't show up right away. Listen, you're hearing this from an all-conference honorable mention," Hegseth said.
Not bad. Show a little humility and humor, talk about the grit and toughness required for victory. Considering the former Fox & Friends Weekend host's last pep talk descended into obsessions with beards and fat generals, maybe he's turned a corner.
"I don't know if you saw, I gave a little speech on Tuesday. That's right, no more beardos. Two PT tests no matter who you are. Standards, discipline, accountability, readiness. All the things you hear from your professors," he said, before continuing: "It's the basics, it's blocking and tackling of leadership. Of command. That's what you're learning here, that's what your formations need, that's what the country needs."
OK, well, I'm not sure the Wing-T offense necessarily applies to working the lower decks in a Nimitz class aircraft carrier, or completely maps with the sigma grindset ethos. But Hegseth's living in the moment—he is simply trying to embody the "highest male standard" every day. This is clearly a man at the top of his game, who can handle the stress and attention of one of the most difficult jobs in the country. You simply have to let him cook when it's time to motivate the boys.
"That's going to be your life, not just in this game, but for the rest of your life when you're wearing a different kind of uniform. There's going to be shit days, there's going to be tough days, there's going to be frustrations," said Hegseth, who was once flagged by a fellow service member as a possible "insider threat." "You're going to have bad leaders. You're going to have good leaders, clear missions and missions with no clarity at all.”
Hmm. Well, I'm sure everything's fine. Hey, you want to see him do some pushups?
