It was with bewilderment and bemusement Wednesday than I watched Coast Guard Academy suddenly occupy this cosmic relevance around here.

No, really. You ignore the place 364 days of the year and then start breathing into brown paper bags on commencement day because the president is coming?

I get it. It’s the president. And I shouldn’t get so proprietary about these things. But as someone who spends ample time at the academy and its people the other 364 irrelevant days, I must ask: How come none of the locals are as interested in the place when the cadets — the true stars of the show — are making the news?

I’m there frequently for sporting events. Because I enjoy it. Kids from all parts of the country here to serve their country. And play competitively. Have you ever seen a football game there on a fall Saturday? Military pageantry. Part autumnal, part nautical backdrop. A level of football lost on the folks around here, clearly. This just in: Most kids in the Eastern Connecticut Conference aren’t good enough to play there.

Best memory: Sept. 11, 2010. Coast Guard vs. Kings Point, otherwise known as the Division III version of the Army-Navy game. It was a football game wrapped around a remembrance of Sept. 11, 2001.

Know what happened? Regiments from both academies walked onto the field, Kings Point cadets in all white, whiter than a box of Ivory Soap, all the Coast Guard cadets in lockstep precision. Everyone stood for the presentation of the colors, everyone with their hats off and mouths closed. The Coast Guard Glee Club sang the Star Spangled Banner. Just as it was written. Just as it was supposed to sound. Not some five-minute ballad with melody spasms.

There was a moment of silence to honor Sept. 11 first responders. The chapel bells struck 11 times in remembrance. The Glee Club sang God Bless America to honor victims and responders. And when the game began, Coast Guard senior Pat Bennett returned the opening kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown, touching off a roar from the bleachers that, if for just a moment, sounded a little like it could have been Tuscaloosa.

Except that it was New London.

And that, folks, is the allure of Coast Guard. Not the president’s cameo. Coast Guard should be this important to us all the time. We are fortunate, indeed, to have a military academy so close to us, especially on days when we need to be reflective and contemplative about who we are.

Then the people. Have you ever seen a basketball game? Men’s coach of local origin: Kevin Jaskiewicz. Women’s coach of local origin: Alex Ivansheck. Assistant men’s coach who is the conscience of the place: Bob Bono. Sports information guy who calls himself “The Big Vanilla,” Jason Southard. Former men’s coach who is only the greatest guy ever: Pete Barry. Athletic director who’s been at Army, Indiana, been there, done that: Tim Fitzpatrick. Some serious, talented people.

I can think of about 172 games I’ve seen over the years that strike me as more fascinating than Mr. Obama’s take on climate change. Climate change? I guess the migratory patterns of the caribou and fast melting Arctic sea ice float somebody’s cutter. But Mr. Obama couldn’t do better than that?

Tell me: How many of us — even among the Coasties — go to bed at night fretting over climate change? Here is what I know about climate change: The climate didn’t change here all winter.

I’m not afraid to admit the things I worry about when I’m unable to sleep:

How am I really going to pay for college?

You try to eat healthier … so why do fruits and vegetables cost more than Kraft Macaroni and Cheese?

How does one properly deflate a football, anyway?

Is there a cheap Scotch that’s any good?

Why can’t the Yankees score?

I’ve got to say: Climate change is lower on the list than the vagaries of Gothic Architecture.

Or as my great friend/Day legend Rick Koster said Wednesday: “Unless it’s a hurricane, why would anyone at Coast Guard care about the climate?”

I know. All the experts out there are going to bury me today for being an uninformed fuddy duddy. Have at it. Besides, my friend Don MacKenzie at Boats Inc. in Niantic sent me my new anthem: “I hate when people say he’s a nice person once you get to know him. They might as well just say ‘he’s an (expletive) but you’ll get used to it.’”

So I’ll go back to being an (expletive).

And you go back to ignoring Coast Guard.

Till Mr. Obama visits again.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.

Twitter: @BCgenius