The coverage starts with a shot of John Madden and Pat Summerall in the open air booth in giant blue and black bubble parkas dawning the Fox logo. Madden provides a killer analysis of the big game about to take place, beautifully set up by Summerall. The temperature is 3 degrees Fahrenheit at a cold but sunny Lambeau Field. It’s the 1996 NFC Championship game and the Carolina Panthers are about to do battle with the Green Bay Packers at the cathedral of football. It doesn’t get more classic than this.
Quarterback Kerry Collins and the Carolina Panthers got the ball first to start the game. After a first down on their first drive, the Panthers go three-and-out and punt the ball to the Packers. Brett Favre takes the field and after stringing a few first downs together, they too punt the ball away. It is a slow and tense start to what is shaping up to be a grudge match with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
Panthers linebacker Sam Mills makes the first big play of the game later in the first quarter when he drops back and intercepts a Favre pass deep in Packers territory. A few plays later, Collins finds Howard Griffith wide open in the end zone for a short touchdown pass. The convert made it 7-0 Panthers, and the crowd at Lambeau was quiet.
But the crowd got cheering when return whiz Desmond Howard runs the ensuing kickoff into Panthers territory to give the Packers great field position. The Packers attempt a field goal on the drive, but Chris Jacke misses it. The ball just kind of fluttered and fell short in what was likely a combination of the cold weather and nerves from the kicker.
After a Packers stop on defense, running back Dorsey Levens decides to take over for a bit. He makes a huge run to end the first quarter, and then makes a leaping touchdown catch on the first play of the second quarter. It’s a tie game and after looking a bit lax a times during the first quarter, the Packers are right back in it.
The Panthers reply by making the next big play of the game. Their defense forces a fumble as Brett Favre drops the ball while scrambling under enormous pressure. A John Kasay field goal put the Panthers ahead 10-7, but it was still anybody’s game. The Packers got the ball back and kept it for a while. After a solid drive, Favre hits Antonio Freeman in the corner of the end zone and the home side was up 14-10 with under a minute left in the first half. If that wasn’t enough to get Lambeau rockin, Tyrone Williams makes a great one handed diving interception off a Collins pass on the very next offensive play. And with about 30 seconds left in the half, the Packers don’t just kneel it down. Favre completes some passes on the run and Chris Jacke nails a 31-yard field goal. Just like that, Green Bay takes a 17-10 lead into halftime.
Each team had an intriguing storyline heading into the championship contest. The Panthers were a scrappy group and the franchise was in only its second year of existence. They knocked off the defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys the week before, and were definitely not looking at all afraid in this big game in the spotlight. Meanwhile, Green Bay was fighting for a chance to play for the Lombardi trophy for the first time since Vince Lombardi himself was the coach. After a few lean decades, the Packers were now one of the most feared teams in the league. They had a young gun slinger at quarterback named Brett Favre, and some key free agent acquisitions like defensive lineman Reggie White.
The Packers got the ball to start the second half, and they kept the momentum rolling. They chewed up almost 7 minutes of clock to set up another field goal. The drive featured Favre making a crazy two-handed shovel pass while being taken down. It was a great show of the resolve that Favre and the Packers had to win this one. Throughout the broadcast, Madden and Summerall were talking about all of the Packer greats from the past who were at this game, such as Jerry Kramer. This was the secret weapon for the Packers, as the Panthers did not have anything to match that kind of nostalgia and inspiration.
But you’re crazy if you thought this plucky Panther bunch was going to go down easily. They marched down the field on their next possession and knocked in a field goal of their own to make the score 20-13. The Packers would answer back with another huge Dorsey Levens run on a screen pass. The drive was capped off by Edgar Bennett running in a touchdown. Although the Panthers were battling, it was starting to look like it was going to be the Packers day. A sentiment that would ring true as the Panthers fumbled on their next possession. The third quarter ended with the Packers up 27-13.
As the fourth quarter played out, the Packers added a field goal and started into celebration mode as the minutes ticked down. Back-up quarterback Jim McMahon came into the game as a jubilant Favre ran to the sidelines with his arms raised in the air. The camera panned into the crowd to reveal a mixture of cheeseheads, Starter jackets, and some brave shirtless brutes. All of them were on could 9 as a long suffering fan base was rejoicing. The Packers players then started to do the raise the roof gesture just to make it feel more like the 90s. The final score was 30-13 for Green Bay.
Two weeks later, the Packers travelled to New Orleans, Louisiana to win their first Super Bowl in decades against a New England Patriots squad led by Bill Parcells and Drew Bledsoe. It was a storybook ending for what was a dream season for the Packers and their fans.
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