What’s Wrong with Super Bowl 45?

Friday, 04 February 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Enough, says Washington Post sports columnist Tracee Hamilton, with the Roman numerals. Why does the NFL insist on them to distinguish between Super Bowls? MLB doesn’t use them for the World Series. In fact, the NFL doesn’t use them in any other capacity—“Did we gripe about the Redskins’ switch to a III-IV defense this season? Do we covet tickets on the L-yard line? Do we enjoy a good XXIV-XXI victory in overtime?”

It’s time to pull the plug, writes Hamilton, if not for us then for “our distant descendants who’ll have to suffer through Super Bowl MMMCMXCIX.” And if not for them, then think about the American children, she writes, who, already struggling to keep up with their peers around the world in math, don’t need to spend “our biggest national holiday” trying to subtract roman numerals.

If you’d like to practice your roman numerals (or switch dates from the Gregorian calendar to the Julian one) this website is great.