Super Bowl 41 is now just a week and a half away. Just as in all previous Super Bowls, the game is designated with Roman numerals. Why?
Roman numerals have been around for almost 3,000 years and occasionally they are a timely --but small part -- of our lives. Then, of course, the Super Bowl comes along and the Roman numerals are everywhere.

Ask the average Chicagoan how old he or she is in Roman numbers, and chances are he'll have to think. Hard.

"XXIV, I think," said one Chicagoan.

"I don't know what fifty is," said another. "Hey! You made me tell the world my age."

ABC7's Frank Mathie is LXV. But that doesn't make any sense in everyday numbers. So why are they used in the Super Bowl and Olympics? Are they really superior?

"Well, I suppose, ah, Roman numbers have a certain grandeur to them. Both because they're foreign and they're associated with an ancient empire," said Prof. Clifford Ando, Classics Professor University of Chicago. "The Super Bowl is the culminating event of the year. It's the biggest game of the year."