Why does the Super Bowl use Roman numerals?

Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles is arriving this weekend.

And as people are gearing up to watch the teams battle it out on Arizona's State Farm field for Vince Lombardi Trophy, some might also wonder why the NFL uses Roman numerals to identify the game.

Well, the answer is quite simple.

According to AS, In June of 1966, the NFL and AFL agreed to come together in the 1970 season. They also agreed on a deal where each league would send their champion, gladiator style, for a winner takes all challenge after their seasons came to a close.

To prevent any confusion for fans, the decision to incorporate a number into this new NFL-AFL Championship Game was implemented.

College games of this sort had also been referred to as Bowl Games, so the word associated itself with the competition.

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Lamar Hunt, an American businessman, and promoter of US football Lamar started to informally refer to the new game as the "Super Bowl" while negotiating, but it hadn't become official.

Hunt also believed the use of Roman numerals would add a flair to public perception.

But by the time the merger came through four years later, the Super Bowl was well established in fans' calendars that it was rebranded with the name as well as the use of Roman numerals, which was made officially for Super Bowl V in 1971.

Prior NFL-AFL Championship Games 1-4 were also renamed Super Bowl I-IV to reflect the change.

"The Roman numerals were adopted to clarify any confusion that may occur because the NFL Championship Game — the Super Bowl — is played in the year following a chronologically recorded season. Numerals I through IV were added later for the first four Super Bowls," the NFL said.

2023 is the 57th (LVII) Super Bowl, with the Roman numerals equating to the following: L = 50 + V = 5 + II = 2.

The Chiefs and Eagles are facing off on Sunday, 12 February, at 6:30pm ET at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

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