The All-Airborne 'Remembrance Bowl' in Normandy Should Be a Bigger Deal Than the Army-Navy Game

NORMANDY, France -- The match became known as "The Game That Never Happened," a planned football exhibition between teams formed within the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division, held amid a winter rest during World War II. Officially dubbed "The Champagne Bowl," it was a game between the 506th and the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiments that was due to be held on Christmas Day 1944.

Unfortunately, the game plan was interrupted by a massive German offensive through the Ardennes Forest. The 101st was rushed to the Belgian city of Bastogne, where they would mount their now-famous defense of the city. The football game was tabled permanently so the Army could focus on turning back the Battle of the Bulge and winning the war. The rest of the conflict is history, but the idea of putting on "The Game That Never Happened" was revived in 2018, and finally happened in 2022.

It has since been renamed "The Remembrance Bowl" and is now an annual flag football competition between paratroopers, where members of the Army's 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions square off in Normandy every year as part of the massive commemoration of the June 6, 1944, D-Day landings.

As fall turned to winter in 1944, World War II was tipping decidedly in favor of the Allies. Paris had been liberated the previous August and all fronts were pushing their way toward Germany. The men of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division -- as depicted in the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers" -- settled down into a kind of winter quarters at Mourmelon-le-Grand, near Reims, for rest, training and preparation for what might come next.

They weren't the only units in the area. Reims was where Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower made his headquarters. The 82nd Airborne was also stationed near Mourmelon. As historian Stephen E. Ambrose noted in his bestselling book about Easy Company, "There was plenty to drink, and thus plenty of drunks and plenty of men who wanted to fight." In order to give the troops something to do (other than fight) while burning off their excess energy, the U.S. Army organized a wintertime morale booster: a Christmas Day football game.

Christened "The Champagne Bowl" in a nod to Reims' status as the center of France's Champagne wine region, units formed teams, held tryouts and were allowed to practice for hours a day, even at the expense of their official duties. There would even be a large turkey dinner after the game.

"It [the 101st] borrowed football equipment from the Air Force, flown in from England," Ambrose wrote, noting that as time in Mourmelon went on, "betting was already heavy on the football game, the practice sessions were getting longer and tougher."

But the Allies had allowed themselves to be lulled into a false sense of security; the Germans were far from finished. On Dec. 16, 1944, they launched an attack through the Ardennes Forest, catching the Americans by surprise. Eisenhower, with very few resources available, used his paratroopers near Reims to plug the holes in the Allied lines, declaring the defense of Bastogne to be the single-most important mission of the battle. Within 48 hours, 60,000 men were on trucks and headed to the largest battle the U.S. Army would fight throughout the entire war.

The bowl game might never have happened, but the idea of it was revived by Patton Legacy Sports as part of its ongoing efforts to honor the legacy of Gen. George S. Patton Jr. Though Patton is long remembered for his skill as a soldier, he is less often remembered for his abilities as an athlete. Those soldierly skills in which he excelled -- running, fencing, shooting and riding -- made him an excellent competitor for the modern pentathlon (which also includes swimming). He was even a member of the U.S. Olympic team during the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm.

In May 2018, the newly renamed "Remembrance Bowl," sponsored by Patton Legacy Sports, was added to the list of D-Day commemoration events and was held in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Normandy. The first game took place in 2022, and the divisions' generals played the game alongside their soldiers. Maj. Gen. Christopher C. LaNeve played for the 82nd while Maj. Gen. Joseph P. McGee played with the 101st. Meanwhile, XVIII Airborne Corps commander Lt. Gen. Christopher T. Donahue wore a neutral jersey and switched teams after halftime.

The first Remembrance Bowl saw the 82nd beat the 101st, but the Screaming Eagles came back to win the next year. The series only has three games, but currently sits at 2-1, with the 82nd Airborne in the lead after topping the 101st in 2024. For the soldiers, it's more than just football (although many remember to pack their cleats before shipping to France for D-Day). The game is meant to bring them closer together and even incorporates a jersey signing event afterward.

It's also meant to remember the sacrifice the paratroopers made as they fought in Bastogne instead of celebrating Christmas. The men of Easy Company were more than a little disappointed to give up their long-anticipated football game. Gordon Carson was especially disappointed, looking forward to the long, hard hours of football practice.

"As the trucks pulled out," Ambrose wrote, "Carson thought about the football practice he had been anticipating with relish, contrasted it with his actual situation, and began singing 'What a Difference a Day Makes.'"

To learn more about the Remembrance Bowl, visit the Patton Legacy Sports website.

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