Anthony Painter

So time to finally answer the question that you’ve always had on your mind, nagging you like a lost baseball card. Which was greater: the presidency of Abraham Lincoln or Super Bowl XVI?

There have been 44 US Presidents. And this year is, you guessed it, Super Bowl XLIV! So a sports writer from Philadelphia, Don Steinberg, has- using his knowledge of US history and politics and the history of the Super Bowl- matched up each president in a head-to-head with their corresponding Super Bowl number. Check out America Bowl for the half-time scores (Presidents currently lead…) Here are the rules:

There have been 44 presidents in U.S. history, and on February 7, 2010, the 44th Super Bowl game will be played. For the only time in history, America’s greatest institutions will be all even with each other.

But which have been better? Our Super Bowl games? Or our Presidents? Finally, we can find out!

Each day, for 44 days leading up to Super Bowl 44, America Bowl will match a President against the same-numbered Super Bowl game. Each day one will win — and score a point.

It will all come to a head on February 7, when Super Bowl XLIV is matched against 44th President Barack Obama. Will it all come down to who wants it more on that last game day? Keep checking in here to find out!

So February 7th will be momentous. Obama or the Jets, Colts, Saints or Vikings?

Don Steinberg has even laid on some half-time entertainment, US Super Bowl style:

So how did Lincoln fare against Joe Montana and the 49ers in Super Bowl XVI? Over to Steinberg:

Joe Montana led the 49ers to an impressive 26-21 win over the Bengals, passing for one TD and running for one — but he didn’t free the slaves.

The game was among the most widely watched television broadcasts in American history, and it featured the debut of the Telestrator — but it didn’t hold a fractured nation together through a Civil War.

San Francisco’s 20-0 halftime lead was the largest shutout lead at halftime in Super Bowl history — but it didn’t deliver The Gettysburg Address.

And who could argue with that?