Darkness and a steady rain fell almost simultaneously on the Army Black Knights’ football practice Tuesday. The surrounding red-and-yellow foliage canopy disappeared from view, as the color and warmth drained out of a late-October day in the Hudson Valley. A dry, 100-yard indoor facility beckoned right next to the field, but nobody even thought about moving the remainder of the workout in there.
The rain kept falling, and the Black Knights kept drilling in preparation for their home game against the Air Force Falcons, until the on-field practice exceeded two hours. That followed a mid-afternoon team meeting and position meetings, which followed a full day of classes, which followed the customary predawn wake-up call for every Army student.
And when coach Jeff Monken finally called his team together on the practice field at 6:46 p.m., he wasn’t done with them yet.
The players took off their helmets, took a knee and formed a semicircle around the 57-year-old coach for a 17-minute blasting of the Black Knights’ effort and execution on a key preparation day. With rain saturating them all, Monken delivered an f-bombing philippic that questioned how badly the Black Knights really wanted to beat a hated rival service academy Saturday.
“You can talk about it!” He concludes. “Or you can f—ing be about it!”
His team is undefeated and ranked No. 21 in the nation, a rare moment at a place where the best days predate the advent of television. The Black Knights have not trailed for a second all season. Yet, Monken just shredded his players—not individually, but as a unit, because the unit is all that matters at West Point. In everything. And if the leader allows the unit to lose its edge, he’s failed.
When Monken finished tearing them down, the players filed off the field. They exited through a gate bearing a sign that read, “Last of the Hard.”
