Brass Shines in Bosnia Bowl

The Rose Bowl it ain’t, but a muddy and rutted helicopter landing field let U.S. soldiers keep alive a tradition from back home--football on New Year’s Day.

“This is the Bosnia Bowl, baby!” hollered players at the opening kickoff in a game pitting U.S. and British officers against soldiers of the NATO-led peace force in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Instead of the roar of a crowd and cheerleaders, the ragtag teams were treated to a cacophony of sporadic machine-gun bursts from nearby villages, the local New Year’s tradition. But no one flinched.

Rather, they battled up and down the muddy 60-yard field for the Bosnia Bowl trophy, a GI helmet painted white, emblazoned with a blue-edged silver star on each side--a reasonable facsimile of a Dallas Cowboys helmet.

Surrounded by barbed wire on the edge of the U.S. and British base in Kiseljak, 15 miles northwest of Sarajevo, the game of two-hand touch largely consisted of players sliding around in the mud or fumbling the slippery ball.

For the record: Besides British Maj. Jim Richardson, two Americans--Maj. Keith Walter and Maj. James Soos--sliced through the opponents’ defense for touchdowns. The officers cruised to a 24-0 victory and possession of the Bosnia Bowl trophy.