The annual Army-Navy game is always one of college football's special moments.

Despite the military academies' struggles (the Cadets and Midshipmen are a combined 2-17 this year), the game always pulls in one of the highest TV ratings each year.

But according to a pair of academy greats, Saturday's 102nd meeting in Philadelphia will be extra special.

	“	At each of the academies, you really have two seasons -- one your games against everyone else, then the Army or Navy game. The spirit and excitement is just so intense around West Point and Annapolis. ”
		— Pete Dawkins Army's 1958 Heisman winner

"I think the game will be more meaningful to the rest of the nation this year in light of what has happened with the Sept. 11 (terrorist) attacks," said Roger Staubach, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1963 as Navy's quarterback. "I think people will have a better understanding that these young men are our leaders of the future. They'll be fighting their tails off on the field, but they also know that bigger battles may lie ahead."

That sentiment is shared by Pete Dawkins, 1958 Heisman winner as an Army tailback.

"The events of Sept. 11 have had an extraordinary galvanizing effect on our nation," Dawkins said. "And even before what happened, the Army-Navy game has remained remarkably popular throughout the country. I think the game is a banner moment for our country each year."

Army and Navy players usually look forward to this game like no other. Events in Afghanistan and around the world are a sobering reminder.

"I think that, if anything, the events of Sept. 11 made it a lot clearer to people that what we are doing is a sacrifice and that we will be putting ourselves in danger," Navy linebacker Jake Bowen told reporters last week. "We aren't just here to get a good education and play football."

But play they will Saturday before a sellout crowd of 67,000 at Veterans Stadium.

Staubach remembers his final Army-Navy game in 1963, which also came in a time of national crisis. The game was originally scheduled for Nov. 23, but President John F. Kennedy was assassinated the day before the game.

Instead, it was played two weeks later on Dec. 7.

"I remember we gathered as a team right after practice the day before the game and we dedicated it to President Kennedy," Staubach recalled. "And we won a game that remains pretty special to me."

The Midshipmen, who went on to finish 9-2 and ranked second in the nation, held off underdog Army, 21-15. The Cadets ended the game on the Midshipmen 3 when fullback Ken Waldrop was tackled and unable to get up until time had expired.

In his senior year, Dawkins led Army to a 22-6 win on Nov. 29, 1958 in Philadelphia. But Dawkins really remembers the inauspicious beginning to the game.

"I was going out to receive the opening kickoff and it was the coldest day of my life," Dawkins said. "The wind was really howling. So coach 'Red' Blaik said to me 'Whatever you do, don't fumble.' Well, I get the kickoff and find a bit of a hole and I try to cut back and sure enough, I fumbled. Navy recovered and took the lead.

"But we came back and won and I had a pretty good game so that memory is pretty special."

Army went on to finish 8-0-1 and ranked third in the nation.

That kind of success is but a distant memory for the academies now. In the last 40 years, both teams have entered the game with a winning record only once (1996).

Air Force now has a stranglehold on the Commander-In-Chiefs trophy, having won the award for the top academy football program 12 times in the last 13 years while winning 23 of 26 games against the Cadets and Midshipmen.

Yet Dawkins says Army and Navy's records really don't matter when they meet.

"At each of the academies, you really have two seasons -- one your games against everyone else, then the Army or Navy game," Dawkins said. "The spirit and excitement is just so intense around West Point and Annapolis."

Navy proved that point last year. The Midshipmen entered the game 0-10, but avoided their first winless season with a 30-28 victory. Navy did the same thing in 1991 beating Army, 24-3, to salvage a 1-10 mark. The Midshipmen (0-9) will try for a third such win Saturday.

Army-Navy usually produces an exciting game. Seven of the last nine games have been decided by four points or less.

"It will be a good outlet," Staubach said. "It always is. It brings things back to their proper perspective."