NFL Shuts Down Church's Super Bowl Party

Wow. This is unbelievable.

http://english.gospelherald.com/article/americas/161/section/nfl.shuts.down.churchs.super.bowl.party/1.htm

Call the TV police: They may only hold the event if they use a TV no bigger than 55 inches.

Yeah, that would work with 400 people.

be under the NFL guidelines...and people could then mill about and not miss a play...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/specials/playoffs/2006/02/01/bc.fbn.superbowl.church.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

... the law limits it to one TV no bigger than 55 inches.

Damn. We had two TV's going in our house last year and were completely unaware that we were violating the law.

"The network economics are based on television ratings and at-home viewing. Out-of-home viewing is not measured by Nielsen."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.

The NFL should be ashamed of themselves!

Damn, I thought it was about the fans getting to watch their home team play in the Super Bowl!

Silly me!

:grr:

No wonder they are called the No Fun League.

Right now, I've got another name for them but it's not very ladylike.

BUT.... all the church wanted to do was provide an alternative to watching the game in a bar by providing a safe place where people could bring their kids.

"It just frustrates me that most of the places where crowds are going to gather to watch this game are going to be places that are filled with alcohol and other things that are inappropriate for children," Newland said. "We tried to provide an alternative to that and were shut down."

It's just wrong!

Pun intended.

:hi:

:spank: NFL

Just another reason for me to have nothing to do with Professional football.

:grr: :grr: :grr:

NCAA FB >>>>> NFL
NCAA BB >>>>> NBA

I can't believe that the NFL would stoop this low. They have a bunch of interns scouring the "internets" for copyright violations such as this church committed and then have their legal department fire off nasty C&D letters.

The pastor should have defied them and gone ahead with the party daring the NFL to sue them. Videotape everything from the tea-totaling "criminals" watching their Colts while their children play games. When the NFL takes them to court they can provide the media with the videos.

I would bet that they could find some Baptist lawyers in the Indy area more than willing to work pro bono publico on that defense.

They would probably lose as technically the NFL is probably right, but what a gigantic black eye for them.

I've also noticed that in newspaper columns and advertisements for bars, the game is often referred to now as the "NFL Championship Game" as if Super Bowl is off limits. I remember reading somewhere last year that the NFL was contemplating a new rule requiring any business using the Super Bowl name to pay for the right to use it.

The interview was surreal. The poor pastor might as well said "Rice-a-roni told us the potluck dinner was off because well it is potluck."

The NFL actually objected to their asking for donations to offset the cost of hosting the party. Their projection screen was supposedly smaller than what is legally allowable. But since they can't raise the funds prior to the party they decided to cancel.

The fee to attend was probably the big impetus. And using the trademarked name.

Advertising it as "The Big Game" event rather than "Superbowl Party" and asking for donations rather than an entrance fee would have covered the problem.

I seem to recall that when Denver made the superbowl a few years ago, local churches had the same kinds of issues, and the savvy ones were careful about how they advertised.

That little TM does mean something, after all....

Next to the World Cup, it's the most overrated sporting event in the world.

A bunch of people (well, Baptists, anyway) wanted to get together and watch the Big Game togeth on a big screen and were told they can't. Land of the free indeed. Next thing you know they'll be telling us what we can put inside our bodies and what we can or can not do in our bedrooms.

And I have no idea what the NFL is trying to prove with this

The NFL has had it in for church as an organization for years. Church is the only real thing on Sunday that cuts into the NFL's fandom and viewership. This is just one retaliation in an ongoing feud that will only come to an end when one organization doesn't exist anymore.

It would be fascinating if thousands of years of religion came to an end because the NFL shut it down.

:evilgrin:

i recall going with a friend to a church's grey cup (thats canadian football's championship game)festivities once. a good time was had by all.

multiple TVs
large screen TVs
out-of-home viewing
etc

From the SI article that was posted earlier in this thread:

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league's long-standing policy is to ban "mass out-of-home viewing" of the Super Bowl. An exception is made for sports bars and other businesses that show televised sports as a part of their everyday operations.

Thousands of dollars.

Sneak into the NFL HQ and troll around their toilets because these people's asses are soo tight they must shit diamonds.

to attract membership. They were going to show testimonial tapes by Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy to "affect new members" - in other words, to evangelize about their church. That's how these mega churches operate.

I, for one, am tired of religion being falsely tied in with sports. I don't like athletes praying on the field, I don't like athletes pointing at God or Jesus after they score, and I don't like them thanking Jesus Christ when they're being interviewed after the game.

It's not your little neighborhood church innocently showing a game so people don't have to be exposed to the real world out there in sports bar land.

If they want to hold some big fancy event using the NFL to, essentially, drum up business, the way sports bars do, then they can pay the same licensing fee everyone else does. I'm tired of corporations disguised as churches skirting tax laws, licensing fees, you name it.

I'm with the NFL on this one.

...couldn't have said it better myself...:thumbsup:

for bringing an end to such subversive activities.

:eyes:

infringement until you try to sell a hot-dog on what they consider to be their dime :rofl:

And I might even cheer them on this time! That's fucking ludicrous to tell a church - or anyone else- how big of a TV they are "allowed" to watch???

This corporate bullshit concept of "owning" things that are broadcast over the PEOPLE'S airwaves needs to stop.