Wherever he goes, the U.S president is surrounded by a small army of security agents, armour-plated vehicles and police officers to ward off any possible attacks against him.
But at the annual Army-Navy American college football game yesterday, the president could not have been in a safer place.
Obama was pictured enjoying the game at Fedex Field in Landover, Maryland, where he was surrounded by thousands of soldiers and Naval officers, no doubt helping to relax
his normally tense security team.
The game is played between the teams of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.
The president worked the Navy sidelines before the game, shaking hands and even getting a hug from the mascot — a goat wearing a Santa hat.
He then performed a left-handed coin toss at midfield, which the Army won and elected to receive.
And as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, the president cannot afford to show favouritism to either team.
So he adhered to presidential tradition by spending a half on each side of the field.
In a formal half-time ceremony, he switched from Navy to Army with an escorted walk on the 50-yard line from sideline to sideline.
As always, the pageantry was breathtaking, starting with the Army Corps of Cadets' march onto the field three hours before kick-off.
Then the Brigade of Midshipmen - the student body of the U.S Naval Academy - took their turn.
Both sides taunted each other in good spirits.
'Why so quiet?' was the Navy chant after their team took a 14-0 lead — and beach balls and even an inflatable snake were batted while slick scoreboard videos poked fun at one
academy or the other.
The Midshipmen struck first on an 4-yard touchdown run by Proctor — one of those 54 seniors — with 1:06 to go in the first quarter. They went up by 14 early in the second when running back Alexander Teich — another senior who will train to become a Navy SEAL upon graduation — plowed his way in from 10 yards out.
But Army (3-9) was steadfast, bulling their way back down the field, cutting the deficit in half on a keeper by quarterback Trent Steelman that saw him go 34 yards untouched into the end zone. Malcolm Brown followed suit three minutes later, tying the game at 14 with a 5-yard run.
Then, after the cannon sounded and Steelman ran toward his quadrant of bouncing Cadets just before halftime, it appeared the dark cloud could be lifted over Army football with a statement victory.
"That's why it was such a heartbreaker for this team," Steelman said. "We felt, and we knew, we were the better team to day. Just to be in it like that and know the game is right there in your hands, it's a tough one to swallow."
Mitch Stringer/US Presswire
President Obama watches the game at FedEx Field today.
The two teams would trade blows in the third, bringing the score to 21-21 heading into the final quarter when the Midshipmen finally took control. A pair of field goals from kicker Jon Teague — the second from 44-yards out with 10:26 to play — made up the difference.
On Army's last-gasp effort, a fourth-and-7 from the Navy 25-yard line with less than five minutes to play, Steelman ran the option and Niumatalolo did not watch. He couldn't bear to see whether the blitz hit home.
"Shows what kind of coach I was, I wasn't even looking," Niumatalolo said. "I was praying, I had my head down, I didn't even see what happened."
Steelman was stuffed, handing Navy the ball back. Army would see just one more offensive play — a 29-yard completion that landed 61 yards short of the end zone.
"Those guys deserve to feel better than they do right now," Army coach Rich Ellerson said of his graduating players.
After the locker room scene, after a congratulatory speech from the secretary of the United States Navy, Niumatalolo sat at the podium and made it only a few short words into the first question before he had to choke back tears.
He thought about the graduating Black Knights who gave Navy everything they could handle. He thought about his seniors, who, in four years, never knew what a loss to Army.
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