THE SET
Super Bowl XXXI-XL Collector’s Set contains five discs, with each disc containing two Super Bowls worth of content. Each season follows the same format, with a 45-minute presentation on the regular season and playoffs leading up to the respective Super Bowl, a 30-minute presentation on the respective Super Bowl, and two bonus features that are connected to the respective Super Bowl champion. The 10 seasons contained in the set are the 10 most recent seasons, dating back to the 1996 season.

The regular season presentation for each season takes a look at the key moments from the season, and does not focus solely on the eventual Super Bowl champion. However, the focus of the regular season recap is the teams that qualified for the playoffs, and the playoff performance of a team is tied into the part of the recap that focuses on their regular season performance. Highlights from each conference championship game are in the concluding chapter of the season recap, which leads into a seamless transition to the Super Bowl recap. Key off field moments, such as the passing of Walter Payton and the impact of September 11, are also highlighted in addition to the season’s key on field moments.

The Super Bowl recap showcases the key plays from each game, providing a condensed version of the biggest game of the season. In addition to showing certain plays, the Super Bowl recap also looks at the coaches and players on the sidelines, and radio play-by-play is used to illustrate certain plays. The video for the Super Bowl recaps, as well as the regular season recaps, is pulled from NFL Films’ vast library, which allows for numerous scenes that take place either on the practice field or in the locker room, in addition to the plentiful amount of game footage that is filmed from the sidelines.

Unlike most of the Super Bowls from the 1980s and early 1990s, the ten Super Bowls included in this set were largely competitive. Five of the Super Bowls (XXXII, XXXIV, XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX) were decided by a touchdown or less, with the winning score in four of them being scored with less than two minutes to go. Only three of the Super Bowls can be considered blowouts (XXXIII, XXXV, and XXXVII), and even in those games there were fleeting moments where the losing team had an outside chance to make it a competitive game. Of the 15 Super Bowls from 1981 to 1995, only three were decided by a touchdown or less, and nine of the 15 can be considered blowouts.

SOUND AND VISUALS
Super Bowl XXXI-XL Collector’s Set is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio that preserves the aspect ratio of how sports programming is viewed on television. The only audio track available is Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo in English, and there are also English subtitles available. During the season recap, graphics show the final scores of the featured games, and during the Super Bowl recap, graphics periodically show the score of the game. The audio is crisp and audible, and radio and television play-by-play are sometimes used to describe certain plays in place of the narration for both the season recap and the Super Bowl recap.

PACKAGING AND LAYOUT
The five discs for Super Bowl XXXI-XL Collector’s Set are stored in a sturdy five-sided slipcase. The front of the slipcase features a graphic of the Vince Lombardi trophy, while the back of the slipcase includes four pictures of Super Bowl action, a summary of the disc contents, and a list of the bonus features. The five discs are stored on three plastic backers that are hinged on a spine, with two of the backers holding a disc on each side, and one of the backers holding just one disc. The front of the case that holds the backers mirrors the front of the slipcase, while the back of the case features a list of the matchups for each of the 10 Super Bowls in the set. The inside of the case has a pocket that contains a replica of a Super Bowl XL ticket, an insert for other Warner Home Video football releases, and a booklet that contains the following for each Super Bowl: the date and location, a line score, a graphic of a ticket and the championship ring, and the rosters for each team. The menu screens are simple to navigate, and allow for viewing the season recap and Super Bowl recap from the start or by clicking on the Chapter Selects option, which allows for selecting a specific chapter to view from the season recap or the Super Bowl recap. The only error with the layout is that the Super Bowl ring shown for Super Bowl XL is actually the championship ring for the New York Giants from Super Bowl XXI, although in fairness, the Pittsburgh Steelers were not presented with their championship ring until after this set had gone to production.

SPECIAL FEATURES
There are 20 special features for Super Bowl XXXI-XL Collector’s Set, divided evenly among each of the 10 Super Bowls in this set. Each feature is approximately 5 to 10 minutes long, and the features for each season are contained on the same disc as the corresponding season recap and Super Bowl recap. Some of the features are:

• Brett Favre - Bayou Boy - Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre’s brings NFL Films’ Steve Sabol to his hometown of Kiln, Mississippi and shows Sabol all of his favorite hangouts. Favre’s rural upbringing shows through, and helps to illustrate why he has always been comfortable in Green Bay, the NFL’s smallest television market.
• Adam Vinatieri - The Winner - This feature begins with an overview of some of the greatest kickers and kicks in NFL history, but focuses on Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri’s three clutch kicks that helped the Patriots win their first Super Bowl title. Many players consider his forty-five-yard field goal in a blinding snowstorm that sent the 2001 AFC Divisional Playoff game into overtime to be the greatest kick in NFL history.
• Bucs’ Losing Streak - Upon joining the NFL in the 1976 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers proceeded to lose their first 26 games, a streak that included all of the 1976 season and the first 12 games of the 1977 season. The Buccaneers’ first win came at the expense of the New Orleans Saints in the penultimate game of the 1977 season.
• 2004 Ring Ceremony - In the summer of 2004, Patriots owner Robert Kraft invited the members of the 2003 championship team to his residence for the presentation of the Super Bowl XXXVIII championship ring. This feature shows Kraft addressing the team and commentary from various players on what the ring signifies.
• Bill Cowher - Family Values - In 1996, Sabol interviewed Steelers coach Bill Cowher and Meaghan Cowher, the oldest of his three daughters. In this feature, Sabol revisits Bill and Meaghan to see how much has changed in the nine years since, and also showcases the juxtaposition of Bill’s on field persona and role as a father.

YOU’RE WITH ME, LEATHER
With more than 13 hours of footage, Super Bowl XXXI-XL Collector’s Set provides football fans with the final piece in the Super Bowl set. For fans who have already purchased one or more of the first three collector’s sets, this set is definitely worth the purchase. However, those fans who have not purchased any of the other three sets should wait a few more weeks and purchase NFL Super Bowl Collection: I-XL, a boxed set that includes all four of the sets in the Super Bowl collection.

DVD Set Main Features Score: A-
DVD Set Sounds and Visuals Score: A
DVD Set Packaging and Layout Score: B
DVD Set Extras Score: B+
DVD Set Overall Score: A-