NFC: Frozen tundra of Lambeau Field chills Carolina
■ Continued from Page 9
had beaten second-year Carolina
30-13 in the NFC championship
game to reach the Super Bowl for
the first time since Lombardi’s
Packers beat Dallas in the “Ice
Bowl” 29 years ago.
The Packers even got coach
Mike Holmgren to utter the words
“Super Bowl” for the first time
this season.
“All of us were dreaming about
this game all week. It was like we
were being tormented,” said Reg
gie White, whose dream of getting
to a Super Bowl has been the Pack
ers’ inspiration all season. "Now
we can go home and have pleasant
dreams.”
Along with White, this game’s
heroes were Brett Favre and
Dorsey Levens, Antonio Freeman
and Gilbert Brown, none born
when Lombardi’s last team gave
“Titletown, USA” its fifth NFL
championship in seven seasons.
“God always has the last laugh,”
said White, an ordained minister
who was the NFL’s first big-name
free agent signed with Green Bay
for $17 million for four years in
1993.
“When I made the decision to
come here four years ago, people
laughed. They asked if I thought
we had a chance to win the Super
Bowl. I said yes because we had a
quarterback who could get us
there and a coach who could get
us there,r he said.
Nostalgia was everywhere, es
pecially in the locker room after
ward, where several players from
Lombardi’s championship teams
gathered.
Said Willie Davis, the Hall of
Fame defensive end: “We can all
enjoy it. Reggie White getting his
first championship has to be the
greatest thing in the world. We can
all identify with it.”
Said a jubilant Ray Nitschke,
star middle linebacker of that era:
“They deserve it. This is the year
of the Pack.”
Lambeau came through again
for the Packers, who improved to
9-0 in the playoffs at their storied
stadium and won their 18th
straight overall there.
Carolina’s loss also ended any
chance for an Expansion Bowl
championship. A few hours later,
second-year Jacksonville also lost,
at New England.
“Obviously, we weren’t at
championship level yet,” said cor
nerback Eric Davis, who earned a
Super Bowl ring with San Francis
co two years ago. “But we’re going
to get there. We’ll get there.”
“The best team won,” wide re
ceiver Willie Green said. “That’s
the bottom line. We can’t make ex
cuses. But we’re proud of what
we’ve done. You can’t take that
away from us.”
“The Packers were the best team
we played this year,” said coach
Dom Capers, whose team beat San
Francisco twice and then chased
the Cowboys 26-17 last week.
The score was about what was
expected, but it took almost a half
for the Packers to get going. The
Panthers also gave the Packers
competition for nearly a half.
The weather at 40-year-old
Lambeau Field wasn’t as big a fac
tor as expected.
It was 3 degrees at gametime
with a wind-chill of minus-17 —
20 degrees warmer than that Janu
ary day in 1968 when Bart Starr’s
quarterback sneak behind Jerry
Kramer put the Pack in the second
Super Bowl.
Favre, whose two turnovers
helped Carolina to an early lead,
was 19-of-29 for 292 yards.
AFC: Patriots defense clamps down on Jacksonville QB Brunwell
■ Continued from Page 9
ty,” said coach Bill Parcells, who gets a shot
at a third NFL title. “These players have giv
en me everything.”
The Packers, 30-13 winners over Carolina
in the NFC title game and 13 1/2-point fa
vorites for the Super Bowl, can’t be too in
timidated about that prospect, because the
Patriots were nearly as inconsistent on of
fense as the Jaguars. But New England’s de
fense, which has allowed one touchdown
in the last four games, was superb.
“We just had to be poised and patient,”
said Smith, signed during the season after
being cut by the New York Jets. “The plays
started coming to us in the fourth quarter."
The Patriots kept constant pressure on
Mark Brunell. The Jacksonville quarterback
led the league in yards passing this season,
but he rarely had time to set up and look
downfield.
When the Jaguars tried to run, Natrone
Means usually found nothing but blue jer
seys in his way.
And when Brunell guided the Jaguars 58
yards to the Patriots 5 late in the game, Clay
stepped in front of Derek Brown in the end
zone for the big interception.
The Jaguars got the ball back at their 42
with 2:36 remaining, but Otis Smith came
up with a fumble from James Stewart and
went 47 yards for the clinching touchdown.
For further defensive emphasis, there was
Bruschi’s interception.
“The things that have not plagued us hurt
us today,” Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said
of the turnovers.
It was the first conference crown for New
England since 1985, when the Patriots went
on to lose 46-10 to Chicago in the Super
Bowl.
New England’s scoring came on Curtis
Martin’s 1-yard run after an aborted Jack
sonville punt, and field goals by rookie
Adam Vinatieri of 29 and 20 yards.
It wasn’t much, but the defense, ranked
19th in the NFL and 28th against the pass,
made sure it was enough. It held Means to
43 yards rushing—he had 315 in the previ
ous two playoff games — and limited
Brunell to 190 yards while intercepting two
passes.
Mike Hollis made field goals of 32 and 28
yards for Jacksonville, which won its final
five games just to make the playoffs, then
stunned the Bills in Buffalo and the Bron
cos in Denver.
But the Jaguars will be going home, just
like their expansion cousins, the Panthers.
And Parcells, 3-0 in conference title
games, gets to improve his 2-0 record in Su
per Bowls; he won as coach of the New York
Giants after the 1986 and 1990 seasons.
Date Rape: Guilty or Not?
This Wednesday night, a student will go on trial for date rape. It’s a
unique on-campus event called JustUs: A Mock Rape Trial.
By staging a trial based on a real-life situation—with actual
prosecuting and defense attorneys, plus a Lane County District
judge— explores the explosive subtleties surrounding
alleged sexual assault.
An impartial jury will render a verdict after hearing the plaintiff
and defendant testify. Facilitators will lead voluntary audience
discussions.
Date rape is a subject of timely importance for everyone.
Which makes JustUs: A Mock Rape Trial a unique opportunity
for individuals, classes and organizations.
Plan to attend. And be ready to think.
JustUs: A Mock Rape Trial is sponsored by various concerned organizations and arranged
by Peer Health Education at the UO Health Center.
JustUs: A Mock Rape Trial
Wednesday, January 15, 6:30 p.m.
at the EMU Ballroom
Free admission and open to everyone
Call 346-2728 for more information