The setting is Rome, 54 A. D.; the camera pans past a billboard announcing "Another Appian Freeway for Your Safety (Slow Chariots Keep Right)" before settling on an exterior view of the Coliseum. As spectators file into the Coliseum, their shadows fall on a poster describing the day's sporting event: "Detroit Lions in Season Opener & Undefeated Lions out for First Taste of Victory" The sign was a reference to the NFL team with the same name, which was a league powerhouse at the time.