Super Bowl Memories: SB XXXI

On January 26, 1997, New Orleans hosted its eighth Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers met the New England Patriots for all the marbles at the Louisiana Superdome for Super Bowl XXXI.

In the days leading up to the Big Game, local media and fans alike were mostly fixated on one player: Green Bay quarterback and emerging star Brett Favre, who grew up a mere 60 miles away from the Superdome in the tiny town of Kiln, Mississippi.

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Credit Jacob Mayer / WWNO

Super Bowl XXI game balls.

Although Favre would shine in Super Bowl XXXI — throwing for two touchdowns and running for another — return specialist and former Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard earned the game’s MVP honors with an electrifying 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. The return extinguished a late comeback bid by the Patriots and sealed a 35-21 victory for the Packers.

The win gave Green Bay its third Vince Lombardi Trophy, which was named after the legendary Packers head coach who led them the team to its first two titles in the late 1960s.

Super Bowl XXXI featured two future Pro Football Hall of Fame players: Patriots’ running back Curtis Martin and Packers’ defensive lineman Reggie White.

Game Box Score: http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/history/boxscore/sbxxxi