Pandemic, cold drizzle couldn’t dampen patriotism of Fort Worth’s Armed Forces Bowl

A little drizzle and 37-degree temperatures wasn’t going to faze a bunch of college football players.

Much less, in a game honoring our men and women serving in the armed forces.

After an unprecedented year of challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including altered or canceled sporting events, the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium stood strong Thursday afternoon.

The weather issues prevented a planned a pregame flyover from four F-16 Fighting Falcons from the U.S. Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth but the military pageantry remained a staple of the in-game ambiance and on the ESPN telecast for the 18th year of the bowl.

Despite attendance being limited to 9,000 because of the coronavirus, the Mississippi State Bulldogs and No. 24 Tulsa Golden Hurricane slogged it out as best they could.

The National Anthem was sung by Key-Are-Ree Moon, the vocalist of the 1st Calvary Division Band. He recently represented the U.S. Army on “The Voice.”

Video tributes to servicemen and women throughout the game included a tribute to the U.S. Marine Corps with a pretty trumpet rendition of the Marine Hymn from Guam and later a song by the the Army Band known as “Pershing’s Own.”

At halftime, Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown Jr. was honored with the Great American Patriot Award by Armed Forces Insurance and more than 50 local men and women were inducted into all branches of the military.

Major General Deanna Burt, a two-star general with the Air Force who will soon officially transition to the Space Force, administered the induction oath.

“To induct brand new folks, that’s amazing,” Burt said. “They’re the future. They’re who we’re hoping and looking forward to and they bring that next generation of innovation and thought to us so we’re really excited to get them in.”

At the conclusion of the oath, Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” added a patriotic stamp to the moment.

Burt, who has previously attended the bowl as a fan, said when she was asked to participate in November it was unclear whether the game would happen at all. “It has been awesome,” she said.

Brant Ringler, the executive director of Armed Forces Bowl, who is part of ESPN’s team which own and operates 17 different bowl games, was relieved to see the game played without a hitch.

“To see some of our sister bowls have to cancel here and there, we were just praying we’d be able to get this game in,” he said. “Luckily, our two teams did the job right and made sure their players were safe and that’s why we’re here today.”