Don't fret if you don't know what XLII is, you are not alone

Ancient Romans must be turning in their graves this Super Bowl season as football fans know the ins and outs of everything related to the game - except what those weird Roman numerals mean.

This year's Super Bowl, which is being played right here in Arizona, is publicized as Super Bowl XLII. But what exactly does that mean? Those grand and formal-looking Roman numerals abound whenever the Super Bowl is mentioned, but it seems that most folks really struggle to decipher something that looks like the sequel to something extra large.

To find out how well people remember Roman numerals from their school days, The Sun hit the streets with the current Super Bowl logo in hand. It turns out that getting most folks to even attempt a guess at what the numbers mean is almost as easy getting into the big game for free.

But Sue Travers was one of the brave ones.

"Is it 45?" Travers queried. "They taught us in school what the X means, but I don't know the rest."

Travers grinned and added her amazement of being able to remember anything about Roman numerals at all. "You don't really run across them much," she said.

Charles Blomquist tried his hand at deciphering the numbers and also came up close.

"32?" Blomquist said. The Yuma man added that he doesn't remember learning about Roman numerals in school. Instead he's learned them along the way simply by faithfully watching the Super Bowl each year.

"I've been watching the Super Bowl since I was 5 years old," Blomquist said. "I've been following the X, but I didn't know what the L meant."

Bernice Hawk, meanwhile, said she remembers perfectly well studying Roman numerals in school - but a few years back.

"Obviously it's 1911. But, no, it's 20011," Hawk said, venturing two wrong guesses. "Oh my gosh, I remember learning, but you know it's been so long. I bet I'm not the only one."

The correct answer is pretty close to Travers' guess. So to get a concrete answer - plus a bit of background on Roman numerals - The Sun turned to a local history buff who has studied all things ancient Greek and Roman.

"It's 42!" said Julia Lansberry, right off the bat. "I'm a big fan of Roman numerals, but I like the Greek numerals a little better."

The X means 10 and the L stands for 50, so placing the X in front of the L (10 deducted from 50) creates 40. Then add the two I's to total 42.

Lansberry pointed out that Roman numerals were the ruling numbers on the planet for about 2,000 years, starting their development around the time of the Roman Republic. Then they lost out to more advanced numeric systems around the 12th and 13th centuries.

"With Roman numerals, multiplication is really difficult. A simple multiplication looks really ornate when it's spread out in Roman numerals, though," she said, adding that merchants in Europe eventually began preferring other options.

"They were good enough for ordinary, daily needs, until you get into the really large numbers. Then they start to get a bit clunky to use."

Lansberry said she's not surprised at all that most Americans consider Roman numerals all Greek to them.

"I don't think they teach it much in school these days, which is a shame. I would love to do a poll and see how many people know what L means."

But it's no surprise to Lansberry that the Super Bowl would retain these classic numbers. She pointed out that many formal and important events or creations often employ Roman numerals, seeking out the sort of grand and ancient feeling they seem to provoke.

"They are used for things that are supposed to have a permanence. It's a way of saying that there is tradition here. You are saying 'This is made to last,'" Lansberry said.

"I'm afraid that Roman numerals may be dying out as they gradually fall into greater misuse, but I think there will still be a call for them in the future. I certainly hope so."

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Darin Fenger can be reached at

dfenger@yumasun.com or 539-6860.