MORE THAN JUST A GAME; PACKERS, PATS FANS PREDICT SUPER BOWL HISTORY TODAY

To confessed Cheesehead Mike Bender, only one National Football League team is worthy of being known as America's Team.

And it isn't the certain Texas-based team with a flashy image and a penchant for off-field trouble which has claimed the title.

"To me that is a misnomer. the Green Bay Packers have always been America's Team," Bender said. "I think Green Bay has a greater claim to the title."

A life-long Packers fan, Bender, executive vice president of Union Planters Bank in Cape Girardeau will be pulling for the NFC champions to take its place in football history Sunday with a win over the AFC's New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI.

He isn't alone. A whole generation fans reared on the Vince Lombardi led powerhouses of the 1960s are certain that 1997 will mark the start of a new Packers dynasty. The Super Bowl championship trophy, after all, is named after Lombardi.

The game, which will be played at the New Orleans Superdome, begins at 5 p.m. It will be televised locally on KBSI-23.

Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce President John Mehner also grew up in the glow of the Green Bay mystique.

After enduring some lean years, Mehner is delighted the Packers are back for the big show.

"For a while there I never thought it would happen again.

Nationwide, fans are jumping on the bandwagon of the highly favored Packers.

"The Packers have a far superior team," Mehner said. "It's just a matter of taking care of business."

Cape Girardeau attorney Craig Billmeyer predicts a 21-point Packers blowout.

"I think it's predestined. It's their year," Billmeyer said. "In the event they don't win, it will be a major disappointment for the team as well as fans. Second best is not acceptable."

However, not everyone thinks a Green Bay victory is a foregone conclusion.

Scott City High School football coach Terry Flannigan thinks the Patriots can pull it off.

As Pittsburgh Steelers fan, Flannigan shows loyalty to the AFC, which hasn't claimed a Super Bowl title since the Los Angeles Raiders trounced the Washington Redskins 38-9 in 1984.

"I'd like to see the AFC bounce back," Flannigan said. "They've taken it on the chin for quite a few years."

Flannigan said the key for New England is to get Green Bay's star quarterback Brett Farve off of his game.

"If they get him out of synch and a little frustrated they have a chance," said Flannigan.

"I think it will be a lot closer than most people think."

Southeast Missouri State University head football coach John Mumford agrees.

"I think it will be a great game," Mumford said. "A lot of people think the Packers will walk away with it, but I don't see it that way."

Mumford said Farve's erratic tendencies early in games could work in New England's favor.

However, he believes Green Bay's formidable defense -- No. 1 in the NFL -- will be difficult to overcome.

"As the old saying goes, defense wins championships," Mumford.

"They're the team of destiny, no doubt about it."

But the impressive leadership of Patriots coach Bill Parcells should not be underestimated.

"They got there with less talent that the Packers and that says something about their coaching," Mumford said.

Mumford is somewhat torn on who to root for as former college colleagues of his are on the coaching staff of both teams.

One of those colleagues is Packers quarterback coach Marty Morninweg, who was the offensive coordinator for Southeast from 1989-90.

"I just hope it's a good game. As a traditionalist I like the Packers, but I also like Bill Parcells' style," Mumford said.

A number of area bars and restaurants will be catering to football fans Sunday and Super Bowl parties have become a yearly tradition.

However, fanatics such as Bender care for none of the social aspect of the big game.

"I've been invited to a number of Super Bowl parties, but I think people have done that just to annoy me," Bender said. "When watch the game I want to watch the game. I don't want to carry on a conversation. To me it's more than just a game."