Watching this past Sunday’s NFC championship game, one of the announcers mentioned the two teams were vying for a spot in Super Bowl XLIV, which for us non-Latin majors is 44.

Hearing the announcer utter “44,” for whatever reason, brought my brain function to a complete stop. It can’t possibly be 44 years since my Green Bay Packers won the first of two consecutive Super Bowls, as they would later be called.

It truly seems like yesterday that I was jumping up and down, screaming my head off in front of the television set in our living room in Grand Forks when Bart Starr busted into the end zone to win the infamous “Ice Bowl.” Starr’s dive over Jerry Kramer onto the “Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field” earned Green Bay a spot against Kansas City in the AFC-NFC title game the Packers easily won 35-10 in Los Angeles.

Starr collected his second MVP honors the following year against the Oakland Raiders during a 33-14 route in Miami. Venerable Packer coach Vince Lombardi then had the Super Bowl trophy named after him following his death prior to Super Bowl V.

But 44 years? It’s really scary to think I’ve been around from the start of these annual chess matches on grass that originally were played for the love of the game and now have double-digit, multi-million dollar contracts tied to the players. The 70s Super Bowls involved the Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and yes, the Minnesota Vikings, a four-time loser, hee, hee, just to name a few.

The 80s saw Oakland, Pittsburgh, Miami and the San Francisco 49ers as Super Bowl regulars, while the 90s became a highlight for the Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Dallas, my cheeseheads and San Francisco.

The past decade saw the New England Patriots and St. Louis Rams shine, while a host of others claimed a spot in the big title game.

San Francisco is the only team to be perfect in the Super Bowl at 5-0. Pittsburgh has one more victory but also a loss at 6-1.

Green Bay sits at 3-1 along with the New York Giants, but Dallas has a 5-3 record in the Super Bowl while the Raiders and Washington Redskins are 3-2.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Buffalo joins Minnesota with an 0-4 record in the Super Bowl, while Denver also has four losses to go with two victories.

So now the fifth decade of Super Bowls begins, with the dominance of years past being replaced by a bit more balance. It’s been three years since Indianapolis last appeared and it is the first time to the big bowl for New Orleans.

My son and daughter fortunately embraced the Packer connection and are as diehard as any Wisconsin native. No, it wasn’t something that was shoved down their throats. They too appreciate the novel history associated with the franchise and the more workmanlike philosophy that’s always been associated with one of the NFL’s smallest markets.

But 44 years? Say it ain’t so.