Why doesn’t the NFL do away with Roman numerals?
Jun 5, 2014, 5:10 PM | Updated: 5:11 pm
The NFL has announced Super Bowl 50 will be graphically represented using standard Arabic numerals instead of Roman numerals, which the league has been using since Super Bowl V in 1971.
It’s a one-year break, according to the NFL, because the “L” isn’t as pleasing to the eye.
I actually think it’s a good decision to break the Roman numeral tradition. If I saw the Super Bowl logo with the “L” representing 50, I honestly wouldn’t have immediately understood what that said.
Although the plan is to go back to Roman numerals in 2017, I think that’s a bad idea.
It’s not just about what’s pleasing to the eye, it’s about what people can read. Let’s be honest, when you start using Roman numerals for higher numbers they’re just not as recognizable.
As the Super Bowl grows older, the Roman numerals become less familiar to Americans. Don’t you like Super Bowl 88 better than Super Bowl LXXXVIII?
Of course this season’s Super Bowl XLIX will be played on Feb. 1, 2015 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. I think that should be the last time the NFL uses Roman numerals.
I never had a problem with the Roman numerals, but I also never thought about what would happen years down the line. Apparently, NFL officials didn’t either.
