For almost 60 years, the Super bowl has become a central element of American culture far beyond the sphere of professional football. And for many, the Super bowl Also invites the need to touch up a certain other piece of culture that always enters the collective consciousness around the time of the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl is one of the few traditional events selected using Roman numerals, a system that has been largely forgotten outside of certain spaces. Although the digital system of ancient Rome began to disagree in favor of Arabic figures around the 14th century, there are still some cases in which Roman numerals are commonly used: on clock faces, to identify the lines – in particular for royalty and other important characters – and to designate each edition of the Super Bowl.
Although the use of a conventional figure system somewhat contributes to gravity surrounding each super bowl, it is always important to remember exactly why Nfl The championship game uses the Roman digital system and also accumulates on how the Roman numerals are read to start.
Why does the Super Bowl use Roman numbers?
The use of Roman numerals for each Super Bowl dates back to the fifth Super Bowl, the league adopting the use of the system to avoid confusion during the year with which the game is associated. The Super Bowl is still played in the year following a chronologically recorded season, so while this Super Bowl is played in 2025, the game itself will determine the champion of 2024 Nfl season.
In addition, the idea of ​​using Roman numerals for the Super Bowl is also credited To the founder of the Kansas City chiefs, Lamar Hunt, who thought that their use would add an element of magnitude to the biggest game in the NFL. Hunt, of course, is credited with having invented the term “Super Bowl”, and its leaders are in competition to become the first team in the history of the NFL to win three super bowls in a row.
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The first Super Bowl to use the Roman numerals was the Super Bowl V between the Baltimore Colts and the Dallas Cowboys, and the first four Super Bowls were renamed retroactively as Super Bowls I, II, III and IV respectively. The first two Super Bowls were initially called the “AFL-NFL World Championship”, and although the name of the Super Bowl was adopted from the Super Bowl III, it was always labeled as the “Championship game of the Championship of the Championship of world »without using numeral chronological.
The Super Bowl has used Roman numerals since, with a notable exception: for the 2015 season, the NFL has chosen to refer to the 50th edition of the game as “Super Bowl 50” instead of the “Super Bowl L”, As the letter L is much better understood as signifying football losses. The 2015 Carolina Panthers were spared from the unworthiness of being known as the Super Bowl L team, and the traditional nomenclature was restored the following year with the Super Bowl Li.
How to read Roman numerals
The Roman numbers use the letters of the alphabet, which are then used in combination, the higher the number. The symbols of numbers 1 to 10 are as follows:
- 1 – I
- 2 – II
- 3 – III
- 4 – IV
- 5 – V
- 6 – VI
- 7 – VII
- 8 – VIII
- 9 – IX
- 10 – X
In literal terms, prefixes or suffixes in Roman numerals are read as being lower or greater than the number of five or 10. For example, a literal reading of the Roman figure IV would be “a less than five” and the and the number VIII would be “three more than five”. After number 19 (XIX), another X is used to signify every 10. For example, the Super Bowl XXI is “Super Bowl 21”, the Super Bowl XXXII is “Super Bowl 32”, etc.
Like figures for 4 (IV) and 9 (IX) are written using a subtractive notation, the smallest symbol (i) is subtracted from the larger symbol (V, X), which avoids the longest and the clumsy IIII or VIIII. Subtractive rating is also used for numbers 40 (XL), 90 (XC), 400 (CD) and 900 (cm).
For those who keep the track, the Super Bowl XL was played between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks in 2006, while the Super Bowl XC should be played in 2056. Assuming that professional football lasts so long in its current form, The CD of the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl CM would take place in the years 2366 and 2866 respectively.
While the figure has entered the equation starting with the Super Bowl XL, you will not have to learn new individual figures for a long time: the Super Bowl will only include the figures L, I, V or X until Super Bowl XC, when C enters the image.
