While winning the CIC is goal number one for each service acdemy football team, one cannot understate the significance of winning the spirit battles the week leading up to each game. Every year it seems the respective academy displays more confidence in the upcoming game when they feel as if they have “won” the spirit videos/mission battles days before kickoff.

Additionally, spirit spots and fun spirit missions not only represent a display of cadet and midshipmen creativity at their respective academies, they also serve as a great connector between current students and their fellow graduates. Graduates always wonder who will make the next video or who will lead the best new prank.

Specific to spirit spots/videos, these productions showcase student wit and charm. While most of these videos last less than a minute, they can often lead to days, weeks, or years of trash talk. The videos are usually put together by current students and their main premise is to mock their counterparts in a (mostly) tasteful manner. The videos are playful in nature and certainly enhance the week-long banter that leads up to Saturday’s kickoff each year.

We did our best to compile some of our favorite Air Force-Navy week spirit spots below. We know we missed some, but that’s where you need to step in to help. If you think we should add more video’s to this list please drop a link in the comment section to add your favorites! Let’s get started.

The Beat Air Force Collection

2018 Edition: First, let’s take a look at a fresh one out there. This video was created by current Midshipmen and I must say, the “I’m Garrett!” moment was perfection.

The Pinnacle: No Navy Spirit Spot list is complete unless it involves productions from the Rylan Tuohy era. Our own Justin Mears labeled that time period as “The Pinnacle of Spirit Spots.” If you don’t know why, maybe this well help:

Rocky’s personal favorite - building off of the previous “What Does a Fox Say?” craze (also a Tuohy production):

Commercial Throwback: Another solid Beat Air Force spirit spot was one that dates back to my plebe year. This video was made in 2005 and was playing off the popular Vonage commercials that centered on “people doing stupid things” like this commercial below:

My then-firsties decided to run with the same premise for this classic that is now 13-years old. I still remember the Air Force cadets cheering for the first part of the spirit spot when it was played at the game, thinking they somehow got their own video on the Navy jumbotron. Think again Zoomies, think again.

The Beat Navy Collection

2018 Edition: So, I know what Air Force is trying to accomplish here in terms of following with today’s GEICO commercials, but apparently that means you should cry over puppies. This was the most recent Air Force Spirit Video found in a YouTube search and it actually contains Owen Wilson who went to a familiar Navy and Air Force feeder school - New Mexico Military Institute:

The Pinnacle: In this spirit spot we can certainly give credit to Air Force for solid camera work and creativity. Air Force is not typically known for their spirit videos and as recent USAFA grad Scott Lopez simply states, “Air Force isn’t great with spirit spots.” This video, however, is well done and even contains a cameo of Boaty McBoatface playing off of a famous Key & Peele skit.

Commercial Throwback: While Navy capitalized on the Vonage commercial craze of 2005, Air Force mirrored the trendy Old Spice commercials a few years back in this spirit video (I think Navy did the same in a Beat Army spirit video around the same time). This video below was our own Scott Lopez’s favorite:

So, there you have it - just a glimpse of the production work that appears in Annapolis and Colorado Springs. As I mentioned before, we know this list isn’t comprehensive. Feel free to add your favorites in the comments below!