Super Bowl XXXI Super Bowl XXXI 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, earning 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. It was also the last in a run of 13 straight Super Bowl victories by the NFC over
Super Bowl XLIX bids to host Super Bowl XLIX: Tampa and Miami both submitted bids after losing the Super Bowl XLVIII bid to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Arizona had declined to bid for Super Bowl XLVIII, citing the economy, to focus on bidding for Super Bowl XLIX. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed in April 2011 that Tampa and Arizona were selected as finalists. The league then announced on October 11, 2011, that University of Phoenix Stadium will host Super Bowl XLIX. This is the second Super Bowl contested at University of Phoenix Stadium, which hosted Super Bowl XLII in February