AFC STREAK ENDS: NOW, AFC CAN STAND PROUDLY.

Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer

His Wisconsin roots were not the only reason Denver Broncos strong safety Tyrone Braxton cheered for the Green Bay Packers in last year's Super Bowl.

``When I watched other AFC teams in (the Super Bowl), I didn't want those teams to win it,'' Braxton said. ``I wanted to be on the team that ended the streak.''

With a 31-24 victory over the Packers on Sunday in Super Bowl XXXII, the Broncos did put a stop to The Streak. It was a laughable run of 13 NFC victories in the Super Bowl. It had become the given in American sports.

What will everyone talk about next year?

``Any time you win a Super Bowl you can erase some of the past,'' Braxton said. ``It definitely erases a lot of bad memories.''

Braxton, a member of the Broncos team that lost Super Bowl XXIV to the San Francisco 49ers, was speaking about his own painful flashbacks to that game. But the Broncos did revive the pride of 14 other teams on Sunday.

Many Broncos players were wished luck by their AFC compatriots this week. Everyone was tired of being embarrassed.

Only twice since the Los Angeles Raiders demolished the Washington Redskins 38-9 in Super Bowl XVIII, had an AFC team even come close to victory. There was San Francisco's last-minute drive to beat Cincinnati 20-16 in XXIII and the Bills' 20-19 setback on a missed field goal in XXV. Only two other games in the streak have been decided by fewer than two touchdowns.

The Broncos, went pregame thinking by bettors and many in the media, were going to lose their fifth Super Bowl and be the AFC's next victim.

``Nobody really gave us a chance,'' free safety Steve Atwater said. ``All the losses the AFC had, all the losses the Broncos had.''

Playing for their conference's honor might not have been first in their mind before the game. Finally earning the AFC some respect, however, did mean something when it was done.

``It feels so good to finally get one,'' cornerback Ray Crockett said. ``It feels good to finally get it back in the AFC's hands. Now the NFC has to come take it from us.''

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Photo

PHOTO Packers fans Ann and Jerry Musolf, watching in Green Bay, Wis., can't bear to look at final seconds.

Associated Press