As we approach the 111th Army/Navy game we asked Naval Academy alum LT Jack Kruse what the game meant to him.
Navy football games meant something different for me from the rest of the brigade when I was at the Academy. They never meant march-ons, or shivering (or sweating) in the stands. They involved being down on field, soaked to bone with sweat, massive amounts of athletic tape, oversized shoes, and fur—loads and loads of fur. And the Army-Navy game also meant a trip to the Pentagon (ahh, the idealism of youth: a trip to the Pentagon sounded so cool back then). I remember running through the corridors, haphazardly bumping into people. The CNO stopped me at one point and asked for a photograph with me. I didn’t say a word but gave him a big hug. Later on during the morning I nearly bowled over the SECNAV—nearly knocking my head off. He just laughed and slapped me on my back
This is because I was Bill the Goat.
To be precise, there were two of us: a first-half BTG and a second-half one. The senior midshipmen always got to choose which half. With only one costume, invariably the senior mid chose the first-half. This left the BTG-in-training with the sorry task of putting on rank, soaking wet, cold pads. And then, because the costume had been around since the mid-70’s, I would spend about 15 minutes taping the pads and fur pieces into place. The interior of Bill’s head was constructed using the skeleton of an old lacrosse helmet. It was partially cracked so whenever I ran I would have to hold Bill’s chin so that it didn’t fall off.
My favorite part of the job though was down on the field, goofing around with and wrestling the other mascots. Most of them didn’t take these matches seriously (with the exception of Notre Dame’s leprechaun one year) so it always surprised them when I swept the leg, took them down and maneuvered them into a half-nelson (Bill’s own version of the triple option). However, the crowning achievement of my career at BTG was the fact that I never once lost to Army’s mascot, He was always a real ass jackass mule.
LT Kruse, from Woodberry Forest, Va., followed up his illustrious years as Bill the Goat (’99 – ’01) by becoming a H-60F Seahawk pilot, and is currently assigned to OPNAV N52 International Engagement Staff as the Africa Desk Officer.
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