That silly, silly pastor. Doesn't he know the Super Bowl is as close to a national religion as we have?
The NFL has nixed a church's plans to use a wall projector to show the Colts-Bears Super Bowl game, saying it would violate copyright laws.
NFL officials spotted a promotion of Fall Creek Baptist Church's "Super Bowl Bash" on the church Web site last week and overnighted a letter to the pastor demanding the party be canceled, the church said.
Initially, the league objected to the church's plan to charge a fee to attend and that the church used the license-protected words "Super Bowl" in its promotions.
Pastor John D. Newland said he told the NFL his church would not charge anyone and that it would drop the use of the forbidden words.
But the NFL objected to the church's plans to use a projector to show the game, saying the law limits it to one TV no bigger than 55 inches.
Some schools are having a two-hour delay on Monday, so the kids who stayed up late watching the game get their rest. Many Indy-area politicians are taking the whole day off, having been able to jump to the head of the line for game tickets. The next logical step is to just go ahead and make the Monday after the Super Bowl the next national holiday.
Comments
Leo,
Here's a photo to accompny this post.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/OHMONjesus.html
It's rather silly to claim that the Super Bowl is a surrogate religious experience for folks in the Midwest, since it's far more likely that pseudo-religious fervor will be a characteristic of the West Coast's reaction to a big game.
When you are secular by nature, you are more likely to subconsciously substitute emotionalism, even reverence, in your enthusiasm for events like this.
The Midwest certainly loves its football, but it also has an expert understanding of its religious beliefs. These people do not routinely confuse worship of their God and their Bible with their love of football, no matter how fervid.
>the NFL objected to the church's plans
>to use a projector to show the game,
>saying the law limits it to one TV no
>bigger than 55 inches.
Churches won't have any trouble providing a sufficient number of any-sized TVs in future to meet the technicalities of copyright law.
I have no bias on the matter either way. I'm just saying these public venues are highly unlikely to repeat any mistake of offering oversized TV images, let alone printing fliers that infringe upon the NFL's registered trademarks.
Large groups like the Midwestern churches certainly have plenty of resources to furnish more than enough screens of legal size, within whatever legal parameters may be stipulated for the advertising.
You change the rules; they'll meet them, regardless. What they won't do is stop offering the social gatherings where the game can be enjoyed at popular prices with a crowd of local friends. If the underlying object is to stop these venues from showing the Super Bowl altogether, the NFL might as well stop beating around the bush and say so, and sue the infringing parties head-on, rather than pretend that their problem is merely a matter of conforming to fine print.
If the NFL wants to quash low-cost Super Bowl venues altogether, and keeps ratcheting up their objections in order to eliminate all such opportunities, then we may see a public revolt (I'm reminded of the Prohibition speakeasies of the 1920's-1930's).
I don't think anybody has the right to expect to snuff out every opportunity to enjoy their event at a cost they can afford, so long as the provider pays the owner what it required.
Other entrepreneurs have at least some rights to profit by inventing fair and equitable methods for folks without a lot of money to participate in a high-dollar event, particularly one whose life support relies upon the blood and money of a huge cross-section of the locally participating average American fans and supporters.
Steve. If you read the law, It does not allow churches to show the SuperBowl on a multitude of screens. It only allows them to show it on 4 televisions of not larger than 55". It also restricts it further that each TV must be in a separate room. To even further complicate matter, the law only allows them to play the audio on 6 speakers. Therefore if a church has 4 stereo TV's in use, they are breaking the copyright law. This law was put into place before projection TV's were in homes. Very few other places had them either.
The same law applies to bars, but the NFL had decided to exempt them. Therefore there will be a multitude of drunks on the road after the game but few Christians. Driving during this time could increase your risk of a crash by a large multitude. Maybe this last part is extreme, but as far as the percentage of drunks on the road after the game, that will be fact.
Ryan R. wrote:
>Maybe this last part is extreme, but as far
>as the percentage of drunks on the road
>after the game, that will be fact.
I don't doubt it. Even chronic alcoholics avoid the roads on New Year's Eve and Super Bowl night when, as they say, "the amateur drunks are driving."
As a musician who knows about matters A-V, I'd say you can serve a whole congregation with four 55" screens, and I can easily prescribe 6 speakers that will provide Coliseum quality to all 4 rooms (most churches have plenty of rooms) - with audio in stereo and even in surround with careful placement by an audio engineer.
Too bad they make it more difficult though, and really too bad about the easy access in bars. Still, it will be those who tend to over-drink anyway who do so during Super Bowl.
One good thing: You can get some great deals on eBay while most of America is too busy to watch their bids....