NFL

Why Does The Super Bowl Use Roman Numerals?

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The system of using roman numerals for each Super Bowl started over 50 years ago – but why is it used and not the year the NFL showpiece is staged?

Why Does The NFL Use Roman Numerals To Count Super Bowls?

This year’s New Orleans showpiece is Super Bowl LIX, otherwise the 59th edition of the Super Bowl.

The use of roman numerals to name the event has been in place for more than five decades. However, the NFL didn’t use roman numerals until 1971, beginning with Super Bowl V (5).

According to Kansas City Chiefs historian Bob Moore, the idea to use the unique naming system is down to former Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt.

Hunt believes that using roman numerals for the Super Bowl would portray how the regular season was played in one calendar year and the Super Bowl being played in the other. With the majority of the football season being played in the fall, the playoffs and Super Bowl then take place in January and February, with the use of years potentially creating confusion.

He also believed it would make the Super Bowl feel ‘more important’, according to Moore.

Moore told the Associated Press in 2012: “The Roman numerals made it much more important. It’s much more magisterial.”

Have Roman Numerals Ever Not Been Used For The Super Bowl?

Yes, for the first four Super Bowls, starting in 1967 which then run through until Super Bowl V four years later.

There has also been only one other occasion when the Super Bowl didn’t use roman numerals after 1971.

This was for Super Bowl 50, which took place in February 2016.

The Roman Numerals System

A quick refresher on roman numerals:

  • I = 1
  • V = 5
  • X =10
  • L =50

If an I appears after a symbol, it is added to the larger symbol. However, if it comes before it, then it is subtracted.

So for example, VIII is 8 while IX is 9.