In about 48 hours, the YouTube-driven Army-Navy hype will yield to more traditional march-ons and tailgates. But here's one last group of video clips and comments, this time from the pro-Black Knights camp. (Click here and here for earlier video roundups, and congratulations to the two winners of the official Army-Navy Spirit video contest.)

1. 'Step aside, Bill.'

Pro: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Army Gen. Martin Dempsey has his gunslinger act down, riding a beautiful horse with swagger and backed by a twangy guitar. Part McConaughey, part Eastwood, it's easily his best YouTube performance since singing circles around Rosita on Sesame Street.

Con: Soundtrack aside, at its core, this video shows a man in a hat on a horse talking to a goat. It's a great setup for a children's book, but spirit spots generally evoke more kick-ass imagery. For instance:

2. The mule manifesto

Pro: Two legacies at work here – the Army mule, which has represented West Point with pride since 1899, and the talking equine, which has represented the pinnacle of American television since 1958.

Con: Another video shows the mule stealing Navy's "I believe" chant, something Navy fans thought they'd already dealt with.

3. 'I thought everybody liked Nickelback'

Pro: This established late-night TV bit makes for a perfect spirit spot concept, but it's the defense of the tweets by the "mids" that makes it one of the year's best submissions. The actors gleefully hit the spot between incredulous and clueless.

Con: Some of the entries are clearly too long for the real Twitter-verse. Everyone knows the Internet cuts off most inane ramblings at 140 charac ...

4. Rap battle is over. This wins

Pro: It's rare to get stellar rap lyrics and near-professional production values in the same video. This excels in both areas, plus mixes in football highlights, plus a clip of Calvin and Hobbes, plus a shot of a pumped-up academy superintendent (blink and you'll miss Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, happy as all get-out, at the 2:16 mark).

Con: Last year, the video's creator put together a piece entitled "11 years" that was nearly as impressive. Didn't work.

5. Losing streak, explained

Pro: Never anything wrong with a parachute-team video, and bonus points for the extra effort to add a plot to the impressive overhead camera angles.

Con: It's very likely that the "secret game plan" missing since the turn of the millennium includes details like "make sure Omari Thompson returns the kickoff" or "steer clear of Brian Stann." Saturday could become yet another cautionary tale about using outdated intel.

About Kevin Lilley

Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.

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