PACKERS VS. BRONCOS: NOTES, QUOTES AND COMMENTS.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

They want arm and a leg to park your backside

Itching for a Super Bowl XXXII ticket? Get ready to put out quite a bit of scratch.

A quick check of two ticket agencies Monday revealed prices ranging from $1,100 for a plain old end-zone seat to $4,000 for some up-close-and-personal real estate in San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium on Jan. 25.

Marc Simon of Good Time Tickets in Hollywood said seats available there range from $1,100 to $3,500.

``John,'' who works at V.I.P. Tickets in Sherman Oaks, said the ducats his company has available range from $1,350 to $4,000.

Asked if demand will drive prices higher, he said: ``I hope not. I hope it goes down. I want to go.''

Long odds don't bother Cheeseheads

It's become a January ritual in the sports books on the glittering Las Vegas Strip. Throw out a big number on the NFC's Super Bowl team and watch bettors quickly bet it up even higher.

This year is no different, with bettors so confident in the chances of the Green Bay Packers that they are willing to give away nearly two touchdowns on the point spread to the Denver Broncos.

The 12-1/2-point line posted at most books following Sunday's conference title games wasn't enough to stop bettors from putting money on the Packers, who quickly went to 13-1/2-point favorites around the city.

``It does seem kind of high, doesn't it?'' a book writer at the Texas hotel-casino said, even as he accepted more bets on the Packers.

It would be high in the regular season, when oddsmakers say Green Bay would be only a 10-point favorite, even at home.

``This line is always out of whack for the Super Bowl,'' said Bally's sports-book manager John Avello. ``We just throw a number out and say do with it what you've got to do with it.''

So far, what bettors are doing with it is putting their money on Green Bay, ignoring the big spread. Some Denver money began to appear after the initial Packers rush, but Green Bay remained a 13-point favorite at most books on Monday.

It's the fifth year in a row that the NFC's Super Bowl representative has been a double-digit favorite, and the second year in a row that the line has been in the two-touchdown range.

In last year's game, the Packers were a 14-point favorite over the New England Patriots. That's exactly where the game ended, with Green Bay winning 35-21 and most bettors getting their money back.

``We don't make lines from a historical standpoint, but bettors look at it that way,'' said Michael ``Roxy'' Roxborough, whose Las Vegas Sports Consultants sets the lines for most major sports books. ``The AFC just hasn't been very competitive in these games.''

NFC teams have been favored in 12 of the last 15 Super Bowls, and won the last two times the AFC champion was favored. Of course, NFC teams have won the last 13 Super Bowls, so their dominance is unchallenged.

Though Green Bay is a prohibitive favorite, sports-book operators were more than happy to see Denver in the title game. Denver fans have historically backed their teams with money, and this year's Super Bowl betting could be the best ever.

``I think we'll get a lot of money on the underdog,'' Avello said. ``People may not feel Denver can win the game, but they feel Denver can hang around and stay close enough.''

Roxborough said the attractive matchup combined with the fact gamblers will stop in Las Vegas to bet on their way to San Diego should help betting top the $70.9 million record set in 1996.

They won't miss this one

After winning a return trip to the Super Bowl, Packers coach Mike Holmgren thought of Robert Brooks and George Koonce.

``Now they get their chance,'' Holmgren said. ``I was very happy obviously coming home, but I thought of those two young guys and I couldn't be happier for two guys that really deserve to play in a game like this. Great.''

A year ago, Brooks, the team's top receiver, and Koonce, the team's leading tackler as a linebacker, were injured and missed the Packers' first Super Bowl title in 29 seasons.

``We are just pumped up around here,'' Koonce said after team meetings. ``We want to continue to play good solid defense because if a team can't score, they can't win. That is our motto right now.''

The last time Green Bay played Denver was late in the 1996 season. The Packers won 41-6 in a game that was so meaningless in the standings for Denver that quarterback John Elway didn't play.

Holmgren, noting ``Elway is still Elway,'' said the emergence of running back Terrell Davis has changed the Broncos.

``What Denver has done, winning a game in Kansas City and winning a game in Pittsburgh, now that is huge,'' Holmgren said. ``That is not an easy thing to do. They can feel real good about that.''

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Photo

PHOTO (Color) Pack-ed in ice

Paul Goderstad puts finishing touches on an ice sculpture of a football player in the front yard of his Green Bay home.

Associated Press