Navy Seabee comes to The College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience on first day of 26-day Leave

Dylan Spangler, a Navy Petty Officer Second Class stationed at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, Miss., chose the College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience as his first destination during his 26-day leave, which began in Atlanta on November 14.  “I have never been to Atlanta and thought this would be a great opportunity.  My roommate told me about the College Football Hall of Fame, which she had visited earlier this fall. I grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and I have always been a big college football fan, so I thought that the Hall of Fame would be a great place to begin,” Spangler said. 

Spangler arrived at the College Football Hall of Fame donning his Nebraska Husker’s red t-shirt and hat. His adventure began with the registration of his All-Access pass, which lit up the Nebraska helmet on the massive Helmet Wall that greets guests upon entering the Hall. 

He spent the next two hours absorbing as much as possible, reveling in the college football spirit and overall experience.  He started on the third floor in the Hall of Fame where he went through several of the Nebraska Hall of Famers’ bios, statistics, pictures and videos.  He then proceeded to the second floor’s fan experience, finishing the day on the 45-yard indoor football field.  “I most enjoyed the ‘Game of Your Life’ film and the ESPN GameDay Desk,” he said.  “Although, I made a field goal at the Playing Field, which was also pretty cool since I have never done that before!”  

Following his visit to the College Football Hall of Fame, Spangler visited a couple of other attractions in the Centennial Olympic Park District, the World of Coca-Cola and Georgia Aquarium, before watching his alma mater take on Wisconsin.  Throughout his 26-day leave, Spangler plans to spend time with friends and family across the country with stops in Gatlinburg, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, Niagara Falls, Lansing, Lincoln, Oklahoma, Dallas and San Antonio.  He returns to base on December 9. 

Spangler is part of the Navy Seabees organization whose simple motto, "We build, we fight,” tells the story of their mission.   Seabees build camps, bases, water wells and other projects around the world for our troops, as well as perform humanitarian efforts for countries or regions in need.  For over 70 years, the men and women of the Naval Construction Force have been protecting our nation and serving our armed forces with pride.  Spangler recently participated in a project in South Korea where he built a storage facility and worked with the South Koreans to exchange ideas and building processes.  In his seven years of service, he has traveled to several places around the world and has committed to five additional years of service and expects to stay in the Navy for 20 years. 

The College Football Hall of Fame thanks Petty Officer Spangler for his continued service to our nation and for making the Hall of Fame a priority on his leave.