SUPER BOWL XXXI: PACKERS VS. PATRIOTS : NEW ORLEANS, SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 1997, 3:18 P.M., CHANNEL 11 PRO PATRIOTISM.

The NFL's best late-season defense will be on display in the Super Bowl. It may not be the Green Bay Packers.

They allowed the fewest points and yards during the regular season. But the New England Patriots defense has held its two playoff opponents to just three field goals and its last seven opponents to only four touchdowns.

In the last four minutes of their 20-6 AFC Championship Game win over Jacksonville, the Patriots forced three turnovers

Afterward, defensive end Willie McGinest, formerly of USC, spoke up for a defense that was vulnerable to long passes early in the season and was blown out 34-8 by Denver in the 11th game.

``No one's been giving our defense the respect that we deserve, no matter who we play,'' he said. ``We're the no-name defense, but we get the job done and that's all that counts.''

RING BEARER

Green Bay Packers coach Mike Holmgren knows how to dress for this Super Bowl - he's wearing the Super Bowl ring he earned with the San Francisco 49ers when they beat Denver 55-10 in the Louisiana Superdome in 1990.

``I haven't worn it all season,'' Holmgren said. ``I thought this would be a good time to wear it because I got this ring in New Orleans.

``I show it to the young guys at the first meeting in July and say, `This is what I'd like all of you to have. But I'm going to take it off and let's go earn another one.' ''

BULLS AND BEARS

There's no reason to believe the outcome of the Super Bowl will affect the stock market. But while there are thousands of market indicators, most of which make a whole lot more sense, few are better known on Wall Street than the Super Bowl Theory. And it's hard to find one with a better record.

The Super Bowl indicator holds that a victory by an NFC team or an original (pre-1970 merger) NFL team - the Browns, Colts and Steelers - would point to a bullish market for the following year.

On the other hand, a victory by an AFC team would be a bearish signal and indicate a drop in the market by the end of the calendar year. From 1967 to 1996, the Super Bowl Theory was an accurate indicator 27 out of 30 times.

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Photo

Photo: McGinest