MIAMI -- For more than three decades, Super Bowl Sunday meant little to the Atlanta Falcons. It was a day to spend almost anywhere but in front of a television set, watching two other teams vie for the NFL title.

	The questions are much easier for John Elway at this year's Super Bowl.

For more than two decades, Super Bowl Sunday was downright painful for the Denver Broncos. It was a day for fans to stay away from their TV sets to avoid the carnage.

When they meet at Pro Player Stadium on Sunday, both teams might spend a moment reflecting on just how far they've come in the past year.

For the Broncos, their sixth Super Bowl is entirely unlike all the others. They've come here as champions, carrying a self-confidence and, yes, a swagger that they gained by finally winning the big game.

They're even keeping a light-hearted atmosphere at practices. On Wednesday, a light plane trailing a message of "Broncos' Keith Burns at Beachplace today 7-10 p.m." drew some good-natured razzing from his teammates, who yelled, "You Da Man."

The Falcons, never before a championship factor, finished 7-9 in 1997. Yet now they've come to Miami with the highest of expectations, a slight sense of awe mixed in with a heavy dose of innocence, and the recognition of how different things are this January.

While both are playing for the same reward, they are approaching the chance to be atop their profession from entirely different perspectives.

Happily for Denver, that means not having to answer all those "Why did you lose?" questions.

"It's a lot more pleasant, the fact you're not talking about past Super Bowl failures all the time," John Elway said. "It's a heck of a lot more positive. From 1988 until last year, I answered the question whether my career would be complete without a Super Bowl victory. I haven't had to answer that question since."

	"	It's a lot more pleasant, the fact you're not talking about past Super Bowl failures all the time. It's a heck of a lot more positive. "
		-- John Elway

Now the questions are about repeats and dynasties. The Broncos are so self-assured that they have no problem dealing with those topics. In the past, they merely hoped they could win a Super Bowl. Now, they know they can.

"Whenever you get into a game of this magnitude and lose four in a row, it definitely takes some wind out of your sails," said Mike Lodish, who went through his own personal Super Bowl trauma (0-4) with Buffalo before joining Denver and getting that first title 12 months ago. He wasn't even in the league when the Broncos lost their fourth Super Bowl in as many tries in 1990.

"To win it is something you can't measure, the feeling you get is so great."

That feeling has bred a boldness and created a confidence in the Broncos that is immediately noticeable. Where previous AFC champs from Denver seemed to fear what might happen in the Super Bowl, these guys can't wait to prove their mettle once more.

"Last year, we had all the questions about never having won a Super Bowl," placekicker Jason Elam said. "We were big underdogs to the Packers and no one gave us a chance against them. I think there was more pressure on us in that game.

"This season, we came in expecting to go back. We're playing with a lot of confidence, but at the same time, we're not complacent. We're not taking the Falcons for granted."

But just about everyone else took them for granted for nearly as long as the Super Bowl has existed.

It has been clear all week that the Falcons -- with the rare exceptions of Cornelius Bennett, Eugene Robinson and coach Dan Reeves -- feel privileged to be here. They might not be in over their heads, but they aren't exactly old hands at this Super Bowl stuff, either.

"I've been through 12 hard years of blood, sweat and tears," linebacker Jessie Tuggle said, "and to finally get here, how much sweeter can it be than that? I wanted to be a part of the solution for the Atlanta Falcons after so many years of losing. It's a long time coming for me, us, the organization and the whole city. Nobody at the beginning of the season thought the Atlanta Falcons would be here in Super Bowl XXXIII."

But here they are, 14½ months removed from a 1-7 record. And getting healthier for Sunday's game.

Defensive end Lester Archambeau (ankle) and fullback-tight end Brian Kozlowski, both starters, went through a full practice Wednesday. If there are no complications, Reeves expects them to be listed as probable.

"I thought we practiced good," Reeves said. "The tempo was good, the concentration was good, all the things you look for were good."

It wasn't always that way for this beleaguered franchise, of course. But it's a measure of the Falcons' mettle that past demons have not cropped up in this special season.

"It has a lot to do with how do you respond when you are not in the playoffs and the organization is struggling," Chuck Smith said. "How do you respond? We've shown how we respond."