The creator of the Naval Academy's most epic spirit spot wants to create one “to rule them all”

Rylan Tuohy is no longer in the Navy, but like most Naval Academy graduates, he is still an avid supporter of naval sports, especially when they compete against their arch-rival, the Army. He first caught the attention of the military world with a series of “spirit spots” he did between 2012 and 2016 as an ensign and during his subsequent career with the Seabees. Now he's back with a new vision – and a new demand.

Spirit spots are just one of the strange but entertaining (and often funny) traditions surrounding the annual Army-Navy game. They can be as simple as a unit yelling “Go Army, beat Navy” or “Go Navy, beat Army” into a camera. For Tuohy, however, the spirit spot presented a chance to take cinematic smack talk scenes to a whole new level.

Tuohy made his first spirit spot as a plebe (first-year ensign) in 2012. During his four years at the U.S. Naval Academy and 5½ years as an active Seabee, he made about 25 spirit spots in support of Navy athletics. Fans of the annual tradition may remember some of his biggest hits, including “We Give a Ship” and “Helm Yeah” – all on no budget.

He returned to civilian life in 2022, but his support for the Navy Midshipmen has never wavered. Now he's back and wants to create “The Spirit Spot to Rule Them All.” He launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to raise $50,000 toward the ambitious goal, raising more than $32,000 in the first few days.

“I'm doing this now because there haven't been any spirit spots to speak of for the last few years and I think it's time to change that,” Tuohy told Military.com. “After I leave the Navy and work in television and production, I want to take what I used to do to a higher level and take spirit spots to a whole new realm.”

In his civilian life, Tuohy is a writer, director and commercial producer whose work has been featured on CBS, ESPN, CNN and Fox News, among others. As an ensign, his video work wasn't limited to harassing the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He also targeted the Air Force Academy and just about every other institution that competed with the Marine athletic community.

Tuohy broke out of the usual Army-Navy bubble in 2016 with the release of his spirit spot “Naptown Funk,” which garnered 8.5 million views on YouTube.

For anyone who can't (or doesn't want to) watch the Kickstarter pitch video and is wondering what “The Spirit Spot to Rule Them All” means, the theme is a closely guarded secret. Tuohy had the idea years ago, he says in the video, but he knew the U.S. Navy would never let him work with it. That's saying a lot for someone who skirted copyright laws with a “Star Wars” parody and even shot a spirit spot in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. The concept was met with laughter and overwhelming approval from a handful of Navy alumni who were privy to the script (but sworn to secrecy), he says.

Tuohy's videos not only raised the bar for spirit spots at the Naval Academy, but also raised the standard of the Army's own productions. In 2017, a year after the breakthrough “Naptown Funk,” a West Point cadet named Austin Lachance led the production of the U.S. Military Academy's own high-quality short film, “Lead From The Front,” which featured many Army Knights. While the film didn't quite match Tuohy's humor, it was a huge step forward for Black Knights supporters.

“I think what Army did in 2017 is amazing,” Tuohy said. “Spirit spots are a competition, but I want them to lead to us making each other better. If Army can raise their game and production value, I'm all for it. How cool would it be if we continually used friendly competition to improve our videos?”

While the Air Force Academy is often the target of Rylan Tuohy and the Naval Academy's humor, it has not fought back.

To support Tuohy's latest Spirit Spot campaign, support Navy football, or just support sports-related smack talk online, check out The Spirit Spot to Rule Them All Kickstarter campaign.

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