Local Air Force Academy student to parachute into Rose Bowl

We’re starting to figure out around here that come Jan. 7, even you most loyal NBC13HD viewers will likely watch the Alabama-Texas game on another network.

We’ll be watching too, and I hope that network shows the pre-game ceremonies.

During pregame, a local young man will arrive at the Rose Bowl like no other fan. It’s an entrance that has taken years of training and has to be carried out perfectly.

Spencer Walker is just the man for this job.  Spencer will graduate from the United States Air Force Acacemy in May. But first—the thrill of a lifetime.

Spencer and his sister Jordan got an early start on being Alabama football fans. The family is as excited as a family can be about this next big game. 

Sister Jordan is a student at The University of Alabama, and the whole family will be at the BCS Championship game in Pasadena.  But, Spencer, 22, won’t need a ticket… he’s got a parachute.

“Oh my gosh, the first time I exited the plane, my only thought was just, ‘let go of the plane, just let go of the plane,’ and now I can’t wait to get out of the airplane,“ Spencer said.

Spencer is a graduate of the Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School here in Birmingham. Now, he’ll graduate from the Air Force Academy in May. 

He’s a member of the Air Force Academy parachute team.  His team will bring the flags to the Rose Bowl the night of the game jumping from high overhead.  Spencer will be the one carrying the University of Alabama flag. He lobbied for the honor.

“We had four cadet jumper slots and I just begged and pleaded and I said, ‘look, this is my team, if I wasn’t at the Academy, I would probably be at the University of Alabama,’” Spencer said. “You know my family’s going to be there, and this is so big for me personally and I looked at the other guys who are qualified to do the jump with me, and I said, ‘guys would you let me do this?’ and they said ‘yes, absolutely.’“

They call it the purest form of flight: no engine, no wings, just you and the wind and gravity. 

Spencer has done 507 jumps and this one coming up in Pasadena might be the most thrilling so far.

“You know the thing about it is… it’s not a jump for me or for my parents or for the team or for the flag. It’s for all the fans who are going to be there, it’s for all the fans who go for Alabama and support the military… it’s all of it, it’s not just for me or one person that I’m doing this jump; it’s for all the people that’s gonna see it,“ Spencer said.

Spencer’s parents couldn’t be more proud of both of their children. His mom Pam admires his dedication.

“Well, it’s part of who he is, always been strong in his faith and very, very committed to his country,” Pam said. “When he was 10 years old, he decided he wanted to go to the Academy and he never wavered.“

Spencer has goals and dreams.  He wants to go to pilot school next and someday fly A-10’s.

“I’m not here to fly what I want to fly, I’m here to serve my country and as long as I get to do that in the Air Force as an Air Force Academy graduate, that is my goal.“

Just before the championship game, Spencer’s team will jump from 4,500 feet, freefall for 10 seconds, then deploy their chutes and their flags, and be drawn into the noise and mass of the Rose Bowl on championship night.

“And, you know it just speaks to my teammates and willingness to let me take a jump that means this much, it speaks not just to my luck and my experience to have that opportunity, but also to the guys I get to jump with,“ Spencer said.

Watch for Spencer Walker and the Air Force Academy parachute team. You can’t miss ‘em. It’s what dreams are made of.

“And, when he talks about the things that he does and the things that he wants to do and how committed that he is to serving his country, it just make me proud as a mom, and as an American,” Pam said. “It makes me very proud of him.“