Countdown to Army-Navy: From The Parents Perspective

- Army-Navy Game ... The Moment: From the Parents perspective (12/12/16)

- The Class Of 2017 ... The Moment: From The Parents Perspective (4/26/17)

GoBlackKnights.com is back once again as we bring you into what we call “The Moment: From The Parents Perspective”,

The first time we ran such a piece it was back in 2016 when we had the privilege to hear from three parents of players on the Army West Point football team were in full transformation and support mode as Army would take on academy rival Navy in the 117th meeting between these two institutions. Yes, this would be the day that the Black Knights would attempt to end their 14 game losing streak to the Midshipmen.

Of course, this would be no easy task against the No. 25 team in the country, but as Ms. Kizzy Collins (QB, Ahmad Bradshaw’s mother); Mr. Mark Timpf (LB, Jeremy Timpf’s dad) & Ms. Charisse Smith (RB, Joe Walker’s mother) ... but they did it and now it seems like deja vu all over again.

Army is coming off of a very disappointing season to say the least, where their record is 5-7, with no bowl game invitation for the 2019 campaign ... although for the Army seniors, they are in a unique position (they have never lost to a Midshipmen). However, Navy's season has them at 9-2, headed to the Liberty Bowl and are ranked 23rd in that nation.

But as we all know ... records are of little concern when these two institutions lace them up and all indicators suggest that this will be the case on Saturday (12/14) in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia

But as previously mentioned, this article is less about the players per say and more about those parents who have loved and nurtured them from the beginning to initial steps onto the West Point campus to the final game wearing the Black & Gold and of course their continued steps as future as Army leaders and officers.

As such, we once again have the privilege of connecting with the parents of three player, Linebacker Cole Christiansen (David & Monica Christiansen), Slotback Kell Walker (Tammie Anderson) and Quarterback Kelvin Hopkins ( Kelvin Hopkins, Sr. & Cynthia White) ... although we believe that their responses are consistent with any of the parents we could have selected from the current Army football seniors.

It should be noted that Kelvin’s parents were anxious to participate in this article, but unfortunately due to conflicting scheduling, we didn’t make the needed connection.

Although this regular season hasn’t played out the way the coaches, players and fans would have liked, there is one more game left on the regular season schedule and that is with Navy. Even the casual fan of college football fan knows the importance of the Army-Navy. Of course on December 14th will be in Philadelphia watching the game live.

So we asked the parents how important is it to them as a parent to have the Black Knights take down the Midshipmen for 4th time in a row?

“Hopefully that is there legacy in that they have never lost to Navy and I know that is what Cole (Christiansen) would like it to be,” shared Cole’s dad, David. “I think that is extremely important and to me it’s saves the season.”

“I think they have a confidence going into this game,” Monica Christiansen declared. “They are familiar with playing Navy and I think they are really prepared for this game.”

Tammie is senior slotback Kell Walker’s adopted mom, and that took effect as the talented runner was going into his junior year of high school in Atlanta, Georgia. As such, she has run the race with him from then to now, along with parenting two daughters and she responded accordingly.

“Oh wow ... extremely important,” referencing the hope of a win over Navy on Saturday. “They have won every year since Kell has been on the team, even at prep school. We are very excited and ready to see that (2019 win over Navy) happen. It’s been a big deal for us and already as a family, we have started praying about it and he’s already said that I need you guys on this one. So, we are hyped up and ready to go.”

The 2018 Army football season was epic, which saw the Black Knights end the season with an 11-3 record and ranked 19th in the country. In comparison, the 2019 season was just the opposite, despite pre-season expectations. What advice has these parents given their sons as the players look back on this season that has been filled with its ups and downs?

“The advice that I have given him and that the advice I have given all my children and that is, you give your best and God will do the rest,” shared Tammie. “To be the person that God has created you to be and use the talent that God has given you and He will handle the rest. Trust your teammates and we obviously will be praying for the team as we do every single Saturday and for the team to be the best they can be. And the brotherhood is what counts and go out there and have fun.”

“I’m trying to think what we just talked about the other day ... but it’s keep you head to the grindstone and keep getting after it,” David declared. “Don’t let it get you, but you control it. Hopefully it can motivate everybody to come out and finish this thing.”

For Monica, she had this advice to offer to her son and the team. “I would also add that life is much more like what this year has brought and I think that it has shown character in the team on being able to rally every week and be committed,” she said. “They have had amazing success the last three years and I know they are going to have amazing lives from their full experience at West Point .”

Some college football fans of other programs, especially parents of those same programs and schools have no real idea what is like to be a parent of an Army West Point football player. So we asked the parents to briefly describe what that is like, especially over the best 4-years and looking ahead to their sons’ days as an Army Officer?

“You are right,” confirmed Kell’s mom, referencing the uniqueness of West Point and the commitment that players such as her son go through daily. “It is very different from any other college football team and in so many different ways. They don’t get the luxury of down time that other teams have. I don’t think people realize that ... even sometimes the other cadets don’t realize what the athletes at West Point go through and it’s not just football. Most summers we get maybe 4-days together, we never know what Christmas is going to be like because there may be a bowl game or there might be a game right before Christmas.”

“So, there’s not a lot of down time or family time, so those of us who can’t afford to go to every game, it’s hard,” Tammie added. “But you still have to be there to support - there’s a lot of pep talks and encouragement to keep them up because he’s up to 1am - 2am doing homework and back up at 6am or 7am doing drills or formations. That’s what people don’t realize about West Point and I’m sure Navy too, the life of a cadet is very different than being a normal student-athlete.”

“It definitely has a lot of uncertainty than anyone else could imagine,” explained Monica. “We have two other children in college and the college experience that we have had as a family with West Point has been phenomenal. The network of families and the bounds that we all have with the player families and player ... we are close with all of them and we consider them our family. That’s what’s going to help us with the next chapter. We are totally focused on Saturday and once Saturday is over, we will be celebrating the win and looking forward to graduation and all of the Army officers that are going to be joining the big Army.”

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