Super Bowl XXXI

Finally after years of last place NFC North finishes and losing the Green Bay Packers returned to be kings of the football world. Lead by gun shooter and hot handed Brett Favre the Pack rose to the top of the NFC and rolled thru the playoffs with the help of the master of the sack attack Reggie White. "Super Bowl XXXI" played in New Orleans at the Superdome against the surprise and underdog AFC upstarts New England Patriots who had new direction and focus for two years under Bill Parcells as coach. The Pats were winning with running from Curtis Martin and riding the arm of Drew Bledsoe. Yet the minister of D would silence the Pats spirit of hope with his sacks on Bledsoe as Reggie White would be a beast! Brett Favre would be his usual self throwing the ball and showing his emotions as happy and joyous after each touchdown pass he threw. Surprise MVP was veteran return and kick man Desmond Howard who stole the show with his electric performance and solid kick returns. The final was Green Bay 35-21 the Pack is back!

... for beating the Denver Broncos in the divisional round play offs, because otherwise my beloved Packers might never have won Super Bowl XXXI. The Broncos, AFC number one seed of that year, made the fatal mistake of resting their starters for three weeks at the end of the season since winning more games would not have helped. In football one week off is a vacation, but two is amnesia.

So the actual AFC champs, the New England Patriots pre Brady and pre Belichick, seemed rather surprised to be at the Super Bowl. Coach Bill Parcells seemed rather indifferent - this was his last game with the Patriots anyways. Still they made a game out of it with the Green Bay Packers decisively winning, 35-21.

The pregame show featured the Macarena, which was the dance craze of the summer before, with all of the staying power of a Pet Rock. Definitely a shooting star of a fad.

This was definitely a treat for Packers fans, since it was a long quarter century between Vince Lombardi 's departure from Green Bay and Coach Mike Holmgren's arrival.