Amid the Bowl Glitter, a Super Win for Dallas : Football: MVP Troy Aikman throws four touchdowns as Cowboys gun down Buffalo Bills, 52-17.

There were glamorous production numbers beforehand, a spectacular performance by entertainer Michael Jackson at halftime, a flotilla of blimps bobbing above and a booming fireworks show at the end.

Super Bowl XXVII, played Sunday at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, offered the crowd of 98,374 everything it could hope for in an entertainment package.

Everything but a dramatic finish.

The Dallas Cowboys took command of the game in the first half and then broke it open in the fourth quarter, cruising to a 52-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

Led by quarterback Troy Aikman, the game’s most valuable player, the Cowboys won the third Super Bowl in their history and their first in 15 years.

It was the culmination of the Cowboys’ four-year struggle to get back to the top, a rebuilding project under owner Jerry Jones to regain the glory years when Dallas was known as America’s Team.

The Cowboys went from 1-15 three seasons ago to a Super Bowl title under the direction of Coach Jimmy Johnson, who engineered the team’s rebirth with Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and a stable of talented receivers, along with the NFL’s best defense this season.

“There was never any doubt we would get to this point,” Johnson said, “but the concern was how long it was going to take. As I’ve said many times, no matter how fast it was going to be, it wasn’t fast enough for me.”

As sweet as the Cowboys’ triumph was Sunday, it was matched by the deep bitterness of the loss for the Bills. Their third consecutive trip to the Super Bowl made them only the second team to have achieved that feat--but they must now live with the tag of being the only team ever to lose three Super Bowls in a row.

The Bills need not have looked across the field for the cause of the latest downfall. A look in the mirror will suffice. Buffalo turned the ball over nine times, another Super Bowl record they could do without. The turnovers--four interceptions and five fumbles--led to four Dallas touchdowns.

Aikman did his best to take advantage of the opportunities Buffalo afforded him, completing 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns. Smith carried the ball 22 times for 108 yards and a touchdown.

Dallas’ defense contributed two more touchdowns to the rout. Defensive lineman Jimmie Jones scored the first on a two-yard return of a fumble by Bills quarterback Jim Kelly. Linebacker Ken Norton scored the second on a nine-yard return of a fumble by Frank Reich.

Reich, Buffalo’s backup quarterback, entered the game in the second quarter after Kelly, the starter, was knocked out because of a sprained knee. Only three weeks ago, Reich pulled off the greatest comeback in NFL history, leading Buffalo back from a 32-point, third-quarter deficit against the Houston Oilers to a 41-38 overtime victory in the Bills’ playoff opener.

But Sunday, it was not to be.

This was the American Football Conference’s ninth consecutive Super Bowl loss to the National Football Conference. The Raiders were the last AFC winner, beating the Washington Redskins in 1984.

Fears of rain abated when the day dawned with clear blue skies. The crowd, perhaps fearing the inevitable auto gridlock, arrived early and was in a festive mood by the time country singer Garth Brooks, standing on a platform atop a huge American flag, sang the National Anthem.

For the Cowboy fans, the festivities never stopped.

When it was over, Jones and Johnson, roommates in their playing days at the University of Arkansas, spoke with the state’s most famous citizen, President Clinton.

From the White House, Clinton phoned after the game.

“I tell you,” Clinton said to Johnson, “I watched the team all year long just basically wear everybody down and hang in there and that’s amazing, what you did.”

“Well, you know something about perseverance yourself,” Johnson said, “so I know you understand.”

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