The latest Army-Navy prank has affected an innocent animal in the long-standing rivalry — though the beast was unharmed after the relatively safe shenanigans.
This particular Army-Navy prank is to be sort-of expected, and similar silliness has been a tradition in the days before the Army-Navy football game, which approaches next weekend.
The Army-Navy prank saw the (no pun intended) kidnapping of Bill The Goat, Naval Academy Mascot. And while the teams have been in agreement not to snatch mascots and West Point has “no official knowledge” of the goat heist, some are calling for an end to the tradition due to concerns about the animal’s safety.
During the Army-Navy prank last weekend, Bill was left tethered to a median near the Pentagon, despite lacking proper security clearances and having not been debriefed beforehand.
NavyTimes spoke to John Jordan, manager of Maryland Sunrise Farm, chided the perpetrators of the Army-Navy prank and suggested that perhaps the animals should be left alone in future years due to the potential for harm to come to Bill XXXIII or Bill XXXIV — no one knows for sure which one was taken:
“You would have thought [the culprits] would have taken [the goat] to somewhere safe … Maybe it’s time the prank stopped.”
A spokeswoman for the Navy says the goatnappers are still at large after the Army-Navy prank:
“At this time, we are unaware of who may have taken the goat, but it could be related to the Army-Navy game Dec. 8 … Bill the Goat has been a part of our 10-game winning streak against Army, so we are glad to have him back before the big game next week.”
Jordan says an Academy officer informed him of the Army-Navy prank early Saturday.
In previous years, locals have been goat theft accomplices, and, this year, Bill was located chillaxing along a median strip on Army Navy Drive in Arlington. After the Army-Navy prank, the goat was transported to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington and returned home safely.