The Kansas City Chiefs have just won their second consecutive Super Bowl, defeating the San Francisco 49ers in a thrilling 25-22 overtime victory.
Whether this year’s game was your first time watching the Super Bowl (hello, Swifties) or your 58th, you’ve almost certainly noticed that each game is identified with Roman numerals. But why did the National Football League adopt this system?Is it just tradition, or is there more to it?
There are a few reasons why Sunday’s matchup was officially known as Super Bowl LVIII and not Super Bowl 58. NFL sources cite former Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, who liked the gravitas of using Roman numerals (rather than standard Arabic numerals) and how unique and distinctive they made the new sporting event.
The first Super Bowl to use Roman numerals was Super Bowl V in January 1971, so they were retroactively added to the first four. Unlike some championships that are played in the same calendar year as the sports season (e.g., Major League Baseball’s World Series), the Super Bowl occurs during the following year. For example, Super Bowl LVIII took place on February 11, 2024, following the 2023 NFL season. This could lead to significant confusion about whether the championship game should be called the 2023 Super Bowl or the 2024 Super Bowl, were it not for the alternative system of numbering the games.
Lamar Hunt was also responsible for coining the name Super Bowl, which he originally used as a nickname for the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game. Hunt later said that he probably came up with the name based on the Super Ball, a bouncy toy rubber ball that his daughter played with. It was also a nod to the tradition of calling college football playoffs “bowl” games. The first to do this was the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, held in the Rose Bowl Stadium (shaped like a bowl).
Though NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle didn’t like the name Super Bowl, it quickly caught on with fans and the media and was made official by the championship game’s third iteration.
Time to brush up on your Roman numerals:
- A major exception to the Roman numeral convention occurred with Super Bowl 50 (rather than Super Bowl L), played in February 2016 following the 2015 NFL season, reportedly because the NFL struggled with using an “L” for the logo. After the distinctive 50th anniversary game, the Roman numerals returned for Super Bowl LI.
- The Super Bowl is now played on the second Sunday in February, a relatively recent change in 2022. The game has gradually moved later in the year since the late 1960s, when it was played in early to mid-January.
- Advertisers paid $7 million for a 30-second commercial at this year’s Super Bowl. The game is widely expected to set attendance records in part because of interest in the relationship between Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce and pop star Taylor Swift, whose presence at numerous Chiefs games has brought new viewers to the NFL.
- The Kansas City Chiefs won their first championship at Super Bowl IV in 1970. Their next three victories came decades later at Super Bowls LIV, LVII, and LVIII.
