Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1996 season. The Packers defeated the Patriots by the score of 35–21, winning their third overall Super Bowl victory, and their first since Super Bowl II. The Packers also extended their league record for the most overall NFL championships to 12. The game was played on January 26, 1997, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This Super Bowl featured two clubs that were considered losing teams for much of the late 1980s. The Packers' fortunes turned after head coach Mike Holmgren and quarterback Brett Favre joined the team in 1992. The Patriots' rise began in 1993 when Bill Parcells was hired as head coach and the team drafted quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Under their respective head coaches and quarterbacks, Green Bay posted an NFC-best 13–3 regular season record in 1996, while New England advanced to their second Super Bowl after recording an 11-5 record.

The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year in which it is held. For example, Super Bowl I was played on January 15, 1967, following the 1966 regular season, while the most recent game, Super Bowl XLVI, was played on February 5, 2012, to determine the champion of the 2011 season.

The game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League (AFL). It was agreed that the two leagues' champion teams would play in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was redesignated as a "conference", and the game was then played between the conference champions. Currently, the NFC leads the series with 25 wins to 21 wins for the AFC.

Desmond Kevin Howard (born May 15, 1970) is a former NFL wide receiver, punt returner, and kickoff returner.

He played football for the University of Michigan from 1989–1991 and won the Heisman Trophy in 1991. He played professional football in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins (1992–1994), Jacksonville Jaguars (1995), Green Bay Packers (1996, 1999), Oakland Raiders (1997–1998) and Detroit Lions (1999–2002). Howard was voted the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXXI and is the first and only special teams player to win the award. He is one of only four players to win both the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP; Roger Staubach, Jim Plunkett, and Marcus Allen are the others. Howard was ranked the 9th Greatest Return Specialist in NFL History by NFL Network's NFL Top 10 Return Aces. On July 16, 2011, Howard was inducted into the 2011 Class of the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana.

Howard currently works for ESPN as a college football analyst.

Howard was born in Cleveland and earned All-America and All-State honors as a tailback during his senior season at St. Joseph High School in Cleveland, Ohio, scoring 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on defense. He earned three varsity letters each in track and football, as well as one in basketball.

Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and 1967 NFL seasons. The National Football League's Super Bowl trophy is named in his honor. He was enshrined in the NFL's Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.

He played football at St. Francis Preparatory School, and later Fordham University. He began coaching as an assistant and later as a head coach at St. Cecilia High School. He would later become an assistant coach at Fordham University, the U.S. Military Academy, and the New York Giants before becoming a head coach for the Green Bay Packers from 1959 to 1967 and the Washington Redskins in 1969. He never had a losing season as a head coach in the NFL, compiling an impressive regular season winning percentage of 73.8% and 90% in the postseason.

Nicholas Cardell Collins (born August 16, 1983) is an American football free safety who is currently a free agent of the NFL.

Collins was a diverse athlete during his high school career. He attended Dixie County High School in Cross City, Florida, and lettered twice as a quarterback, running back and defensive back. Collins was also given first-team all-conference honors and was named team MVP as a senior. Collins also earned two letters as a basketball guard and three letters as a center fielder.

He was a student athlete at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

In 2002, Collins spent the majority of the season as a reserve linebacker. He played in all thirteen games of the season, making his first two starts in the final two games of the season at the strong safety position. Collins finished the season with 35 tackles (22 solo), one interception, five defended passes, one fumble recovery and eight kickoff returns for 181 yards. His strongest statistical performance of the season was an eight-tackle game in his first start, against Florida A&M University, on November 23.