“This one’s for John”, were the words spoken by former owner of the Denver Broncos Pat Bowlen after defeating the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII. Mr. Bowlen was holding up the Denver Broncos first Lombardi trophy in franchise history and the man he was referring to was Quarterback of the team, John Elway. While, Elway and running back Terrell Davis helped led the Broncos to their first title in franchise history, it felt as though the team wearing white and gold that walked out of reigning confetti at the end of the game was truly and undoubtedly, the better football team.
In 1996, the Green Bay Packers defeated the New England Patriots in their first Super Bowl victory in nearly thirty years and for many people that followed and were a part of the Packer organization, this victory was a rebirth of an organization that had basked in the sun of mediocrity for nearly the last three decades. After their victory in Super Bowl XXXI, it felt that the Packers were destined to repeat as champions the following year as they were led by back to back league MVP, Brett Favre on the Offense, and anchored on the defense by men named Gilbert Brown, Leroy Butler, and Reggie White. The 1997 Green Bay Packers were poised and focused on going back to back when they entered the postseason with a 13-3 record posted in the regular season. In the playoffs, the Packers easily took care of business in the divisional and championship rounds by outscoring their opponents by a total score of 44-17. Green Bay was considered “the team to beat” heading into their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance and went into the game as 14 point favorites against the run- first minded Denver Broncos. The underdog status didn’t seem to bother the Denver Broncos when it was all set and done.
John Elway was more of a game manager later in his career especially when the Broncos had running back Terrell Davis in the backfield. While the memorable images from Super Bowl XXXII are John Elway’s helicopter flip to gain a critical first down, late in the first quarter and Terrell Davis driving himself up and down the field on the Packers defense, it was another image from this game that could’ve turned the fortunes toward Green Bay. Late in the fourth quarter, the Denver Broncos scored a go- ahead touchdown in which Terrell Davis essentially walked into the end-zone standing up right giving Brett Favre one last opportunity to drive down the field for the tying score. What many overlooked in this sequence was that it was Green Bay head coach, Mike Holmgren’s intention to let Denver score because he felt it was the only way the Packers had a shot to win this game. Hold on a minute, Green Bay was one of the best defenses in the NFL in 1997 and your only chance to win was letting or basically giving Denver a touchdown? Strategically to some, it did make sense to allow Denver to score the go ahead touchdown, so Brett Favre and company would have enough timer to drive down the field and not win but tie the score and potentially force overtime. However, Holmgren could’ve put his foot in the ground, put some trust in his defense, and decide to attempt a goal line stand to force a field goal. This would’ve given Green Bay a chance to drive down the field for the win and even if they couldn’t get down to the end zone in time, they could set up a potential game tying field goal.
Green Bay would go on to lose this game which would also signify the last Super Bowl appearance for Brett Favre the rest of his career. While many feel Denver was destined to win this game and that it was John Elway’s time, I still feel Green Bay was the better team. Contrary to what many believe that the better team always wins, sometimes the better team loses and we have to accept it, move on and look forward to the next season. Although this is the right attitude to have, as a Green Bay Packers fan, I will always have the words tattooed into my mind, what if.
The G.O.A.T. 