But once overwhelmed by the football-conscious 1st Air Cavalry battalion, Major Robert E. Lanzotti, commander of Charlie Company, 228th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion, warmed to the idea.

Saturday afternoon college football memories are revived every day by the Crimson Tide, the Wildcats (Company A, University of Kentucky), the Longhorns (Company B, University of Texas) and the Bulldogs (battalion's nickname, University of Georgia).

The whole Crimson Tide affair was started by a pair of Alabamans no longer with the unit. Major Kenneth Cline, former commander, and Chief Warrant Officer Braxton Snowden, both of Dothan, Ala., gave Charlie Company its nickname.

"I'm from Illinois and I was geared to be anti-Southern football," said Major Lanzotti. "When I first took over the company I thought about changing the name, but old Bear changed my mind."

Major Lanzotti, who played at Illinois with Ray Nitschke, Bobby Mitchell and 11 other National Football League veterans, was duly impressed. Now a 'Bama fan, he and the unit sent the company's insignia to Bryant along with their thanks.

Crimson Tide... (U.S. Army Photo by SP4 Dean Sharp) With former University of Illinois linebacker Major Robert E. Lanzotti calling the signals from quarterback slot, men from Company C, 228th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion show off a gift from their stateside namesake, the University of Alabama Crimson Tide.