BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — For Nathan Weinbaum, a Director and Veterans Service Officer for Blount County, the Volunteer spirit comes naturally to him. Weinbaum formed part of the 1998 University of Tennessee football team.
"I was a manager, I learned about success from the football team," he said.
Weinbaum worked as equipment manager for the Vols in the late 1990s. He helped the players, ran through the "T" and was the coach's right hand.
"We washed the uniforms and the helmets, we got them ready for the game each week," Weinbaum said.
Weinbaum knows what champions and winners are made of. He was surrounded by superstar athletes and watched the Vols take gold in the 1998 championship game against Florida State University.
"When you think of 1998, it's really about Wilson, T. Martin, Jamal Lewis, Peerless Price. There's so many leaders," he said. "They were all leaders, and they, they had a desire to win."
It was this team that would shape his career after college. It taught him excellence, service and leadership.
Weinbaum later traded football fields for submarines when the unthinkable happened.
"I was still in school, I was finishing school. 9/11 happened and I decided to change my path from trying to work in the NFL and I went into the Navy," he added.
For Weinbaum, it was working for the Vols and under star players like Peyton Manning in 1997 and Tee Martin in 1998 when he would use what he learned on the field for a greater cause.
"Sports is great. But this was our country we're talking about. I wanted to do my part at the time to help my nation," he said.
After years in the service, there's one memory with the king of Rocky Top that stays with him.
"I got hit in the head, and almost knocked out by a football," he said. "About an hour later, Peyton came up to me and apologized. He said the ball slipped out of his hand and he didn't mean to hit me in the head. He just wanted to make sure I was okay."