Army is doing whatever it takes to rally the troops for Saturday’s college football game against Navy. However, it appears as though the cadets stole the wrong goat.
The full context of this alleged heist are unclear but there is no doubt that it was a failure.
Bill 38 is being closely watched by the Midshipmen with less than seven days until the most patriotic game in college football. They did not fail at their watch. (For now.)
The Pentagon banned mascot theft in 1992.
The first college football game between Army and Navy took place on November 29, 1890. The two most prominent service academies have played each other annually in all but ten years since. They have played every season since 1930. The Midshipmen lead the Black Knights 63-55-7 all-time and won last year’s game in Landover. They are favored by 5.5-6.5 points in Baltimore this season.
There is a lot of tradition involved with the Army-Navy game, including pranks.
Things got crazy in the mid-to-late 1900s into the early 2000s. The most famous incident took place in 1953.
Six cadets successfully kidnapped Billy VI, the goat that served as Navy’s mascot. Even though they were ordered by top Army brass to return the mascot to Annapolis upon return to West Point, a new tradition was born. The Midshipmen vowed to protect Billy the goat from that point forward. Their rivals set out to steal him anyway.
There have been 12 successful kidnaps since 1953 despite the director orders from the West Point commandant not to do so. It is an intensive operation.
Both schools signed a formal agreement in 1992 to ban mascot heists after the Midshipmen stole the Army’s mules in a brazen raid that involved the zip-tying of Army employees and a helicopter chase, planned in part by the Navy SEALs. Even the United States Pentagon has called for the mascot burglary to stop. But it has not stopped!
Army did not steal the Navy goat.
A video posted to social media on Sunday night shows a group of Army cadets walk a goat out onto a stage in front of a packed auditorium. The goat was dressed in the Navy drapery. Its antlers were taped with blue and gold, just like Bill the mascot. The crowd went wild.
WE GOT THE GOAT pic.twitter.com/rjEiiEC3la
— Drunk Old Grad (@DrunkOldGrad) December 8, 2025
Hand up — I do not know the full context to this video. I do not know how the goat was introduced. I do not know whether this was presented as a successful mascot heist. It could just be for show.
However, the caption to the video seemed to suggest that Army stole Bill: “WE GOT THE GOAT”
Army, in fact, did not steal Bill. Bill 37 retired in October which gave way for Bill 38 to reign as the current live mascot for the Naval Academy. They look like this:
The goat that walked across the stage at the United States Military Academy over the weekend is not Bill. If it is not obvious by its overall appearance, look at its horns!
Maybe the cadets got got. Maybe they are lying. I don’t know. Either way, Navy never lost possession of Bill the goat at any point over the last week.