In the wisdom of the National Football League, what might be commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the 54th playing of their championship game is instead labeled by Roman Numerals as Super Bowl LIV.

In case you are wondering, the NFL adopted the Roman Numerals usage to clarify any confusion that might occur because the NFL Championship Game is played in the year following a chronologically recorded season. The first four such championship games were labeled as Super Bowls 1, 2, 3 & 4. Those games were later changed to reflect the Roman numeral usage. The only time the Roman numeral system did not identify the Super Bowl was four years ago when it was called Super Bowl 50. That took away what would have been a fun reference by stating that the Denver Broncos ‘took the L’ by winning the game.

Call it what you will, the Kansas City Chiefs really don’t care. It has been a half-century since they last showed up in Super Bowl 4 when they beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7. The drought between championship game appearances shed them of what had been the longest period between championship games in U.S. professional sports. This will mark their third Super Bowl gig. Their first was historic as they played and lost to the Green Bay Packers in the NFL’s first Super Bowl played in Los Angeles in 1966.

Regardless of your point of reference, 50 years is a long time. A lot has changed since then, including the cost of a ticket to see the game. The last time the Chiefs were to the party in 1970, an Upper Deck ticket had a face value of $15.00, with the average ticket price being $19.50. For Super Bowl LIV, the average ticket price has reached an all-time high of $6,002.00. The re-sale market lists a low ticket price of $5,200, with the highest being $16,000.00.

That will buy a lot of groceries and a good bit of anything else these days. In case you might have been ‘Rip Van Winkling it’ these past 50 years, here is a look at a few prices from 1970. The average home price $27,000; annual tuition/room and board at a state university, $400-$1,200 a year; first-class stamp, 6¢; automobile, $3,900; gas, 36¢ a gallon; men’s suit, $40; women’s summer dress, $8; mattress & box spring, $75; milk, 62¢ per gallon; loaf of bread, 25¢; coffee, $1.90 a pound; tomato soup, 10¢ a can and those famous frozen TV dinners, 39¢.

Personally, my interactions with the Kansas City Chiefs goes way back to their maiden name days when they were known as the Dallas Texans. Sitting on a desk at my home encased in a photo frame are three prized tickets from my college days at the University of Houston. One is from the Houston Colt .45’s first MLB game (cost $2.50); one a 20-yard line seat for a UH/Texas A&M football game ($1.25); and the third for a Houston Oilers game against the Dallas Texans for which I shelled out $2.00. That’s a lot of sports entertainment for $5.75!

In those early days of the old American Football League, the league was comprised of eight teams split into two divisions. The Oilers played in the East with the Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills and New York Titans. The Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, and the Texans made-up the western division. The Oilers played their home games in Jeppesen Stadium, a converted high school stadium located across the street from my dorm room on the Houston campus.

The Oilers were the dominant team in those early AFL years, winning the league’s first two championships. They were led by QB George Blanda, running back Billy Cannon and wide receivers Charley Hennigan and Bill Groman. They were a hot ticket and entertaining to watch. They were also public relations savvy and offered college students $2.00 end zone tickets for every game. The students provided added enthusiasm, and the Oilers hung championship banners.

On December 23, 1962, the Oilers were seeking its third consecutive title against the rival Texans with 37,981 looking on in Houston. In what was one of the most memorable games played in the league’s existence, the Texans defeated the favored Oilers 20-17 in a double-overtime thriller.

While they were crowned the best team in the AFL, they weren’t looked upon as the favorite team in Dallas, where the majority of football fans didn’t value them as being on the same level as the Dallas Cowboys that had gained a franchise in the NFL. A year later, team owner and one of the founders of the AFL, Lamar Hunt, moved the Texans to Kansas City, where they became the Chiefs.

The AFL’s eight original teams remained intact until 1970 when the teams became part of the merger with the National Football League. Following the merger, the Oilers moved from Jeppesen Stadium to the Astrodome in 1970, where they remained until owner Bud Adams moved the team to Nashville, where they became the Titans in 1999. The Chiefs punched their Super Bowl LIV tickets by beating that relocated Houston franchise 35-24 two weeks ago. Did someone once say history has a way of repeating itself?

Speaking of football, those following the career of South Williamsport High School and Lehigh University record-breaking running back Dominick Bragalone may be interested to know he has signed on to play with the Duke City Gladiators in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Gladiators, who won back-to-back championships in the CIF (Champions Indoor Football), have moved to the larger-market Indoor Football League (IFL) for the upcoming 2020 season.

Bragalone will report to the team for their pre-season training camp on February 28. The Gladiators will begin their 13-team IFL schedule on March 12 with the league schedule running through June 27.