NFL cracks down on church Super Bowl viewing
 

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...RTS03/70201036

Churches react to NFL's Super Bowl warning

By Robert King
robert.king@indystar.com

Several Indiana churches are scrambling to decide what they should do about their plans for Super Bowl viewing parties in light of the NFL’s tough stance with an Indianapolis church that wanted to show the game on a giant screen.

Congregations such as Indian Creek Christian Church in Marion County's Franklin Township and Castleton United Methodist Church in Indianapolis had decided to or were considering whether to cancel their viewing parties in light of the NFL’s objections that such parties violate copyright laws.

At least one church plans to defy the NFL’s objections and host a big-screen party anyway.

The question arose after Fall Creek Baptist Church said the NFL had demanded that it forego a “Super Bowl Bash” at the church that would bring together congregation members to watch the game with a projection TV.

A story in Thursday’s Star prompted two dozen calls and more than 130 e-mail responses — almost all of them voicing outrage at the NFL’s stance.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league has a longstanding policy against “mass out-of-home viewings” of the Super Bowl, even if they don’t charge admission. Hosts of parties can use only one TV that is no bigger than 55 inches, according to a league attorney. The NFL makes an exception to that, however, for sports bars that show televised sports on a regular basis.

Not that I would go, but I don't see what the problem is if it's on regular television (ie. not ppv) and no admission is charged.

You've got to be kidding me.:shake:

What's the NFL going to do, send out a bunch of goons to break these parties up?

Good thing my TV is only HDTV is only 52 inches. I'd hate to get the NFL pissed at me

Just make sure the game's only being shown on that one TV. If someone turns on the game on a different tv in a different room, you're in trouble!!! :rolleyes:

Huh??

What interest does th NFL have in opposing this? I see no logic in their position.

Stupid NFL

Yeah just WTF? Who do they think they are dictating how big a TV you can have to watch the Super Bowl in your own home? No way thats legal.

It's for the networks. More TVs on means higher Nielson ratings.

They want more TV's turned on and bigger ratings so they can charge more for the TV rights in the future.
But who watches the Super Bowl by themselfs? Almost everybody that watches the Superbowl has company over.

“mass out-of-home viewings”

:hmmm: Well maybe the NFL was squeezing Nzoner and this is why no superbowl party in his gameroom this year, the fix was in? He Nzoner is the man keeping you down?

The fewer TV's tuned into the SB, the lower the ratings.

This is the dumbest thing I've heard of in quite some time. The NFL has restrictions on how many people you can have over to watch the Super Bowl??

This shit just pisses me off. Talk about 1984 in action.

More proof that many of the churches have become no more than a bunch of money hungry social clubs.

They need to base it on the % of homes tuned in. Even people that don't care about football watch the game and the commercials, attend a party.

How ridiculous.

Our favorite sport is run by money-hungry mobsters...

Will it really impact the value of the Super Bowl TV rights if a few hundred people watch the game in a church? My guess is no. The NFL could have turned a blind eye to this and not been affected in the least.

Jesus can't watch the Superbowl??

He's busy quarterbacking the Colts.

No he is the only one that is allowed to watch it at the churches since it is his house. He's just not allowed to have friends over.

This can't be legal, right? I can see if someone was charging admission, but there is NO WAY they can tell me I can't have 200 friends over and project the game on my wall.

Hootie let Huard out of his sights long enough to start for the Colts?


What is the world coming too?

Allow me to say this again with a little more emphasis this time.

This applies ONLY to “mass out-of-home viewings”, meaning parties NOT held in someone's home.

How can it be legal though? It's not like it's on a sports tier (NFL Network) or PPV. It's on network television - and not even a cable chanel like ESPN.

Seriously, how do they enforce this and where do they draw the line?

They own the rights to the broadcast, therefore they can make whatever rules they want regarding them. As far as how they are enforcing them, that's a very good question that I'd like to know the answer to myself. I suppose they could sue the churches, that would go over well.

There seems to be quite a bit of stupidness coming from higer-ups today. LiteBrite scares. Super Bowl party raids.

07 isn't starting off on a very smart note.

Oh yeah? Well...I was talking about having friends over to my CHURCH home. :p

ROFL

I'll watch the SuperBowl however the **** I want to watch.

And the NFL will eat shit and LIKE IT! 4321 the NFL.

My SB party is going to have a 61" set. Breakin the law, breakin the law!

While I don't disagree that's true of many, I fail to see how the NFL whining about a Super Bowl Party "proves" that point.

As there is no mention of the Church charging for someone to come to the party, I fail to see how this "proves" they are a "Money hungry social club".

Perhaps you could elaborate, or simply admit you are using the NFL's complaint to voice your displeasure about a completely different issue than the one under discussion here. ;)

Personally, I'd like to see the church go ahead with this, and then watch the uproar if the NFL is actually dumb enough to sue the church because of it. Talk about crappy PR for the league...

I'm just going to dispose of these video tapes I have of a couple of Super Bowls from years past...

2007 has been hilariously reeruned, and I love it.

I said that it adds more to the proof, not that it is the only proof. I can give a you a list a mile long if you really need more proof that there are many churches that are money hungry social clubs. I dont care if they show the game and then play bingo after the game. I just find it ironic how the religious church leaders wonder why there are fewer and fewer people filling the seats and why they arent respected the way they used to be.

None of which has anything to do with the topic under discussion in this thread. Thanks for the confirmation. :thumb:

May I suggest starting a thread on that topic, instead of attempting to hi-jack this one? It's a little too believer-esque.

I wonder if the NFL will cite us this weekend for watching the game with friends on their HD projector...I'm pretty sure the image will be considerably bigger than 52', and it won't be at a private home.

Still, I'd love to see the NFL face the press that comes with suing a Church for doing this. ROFL

I guess you dont get it, I'm not hijacking.....just an observation. Believe it or not this hasnt been an issue for the NFL and churches till just most recently. I think the first I seen of such, I saw something last year on the news where a church projected it on the outside back wall for a Chiefs game. There was a time where churches were a respected place and not used for such things, but times have changed, thus my bringing forth my comment.

That's only true if the TVs being watched are Nielson Homes in the first place. That's the only way they can keep track of the number of viewers. If Nielson doesn't have their equipment connected to the TV, then there is no accurate way to measure the number of viewers. With that being said, it's still a quesstimate.

Hasn't the league got more important things to worry about like what TO is doing in the offseason?

Something tells me there's more to this than appears in the story.

Either way, this ties back to the RCA Dome story, where Aiello also said “Mass, out-of-home viewing is not permitted by our television contracts.’’

There's your answer right there, in fact - the television contracts.

The rule is nothing new.

Oh, I'm pretty sure I get it.

Then you had to use your reply to flog that horse again. :rolleyes:



Getting back to the thread topic, of course it's about the TV contracts. That's the NFL's cash cow.

I hope the pastor has the nerve to "triple-dog dare 'em" to sue.

Thanks keg, I didn't know about the RCA dome story.


Or insuring that Prince doesn't suffer a "wardrobe malfunction"? :eek:

Gee..... I could have sworn that the word "church" was part of the topic. Well lookie, why yes it was and its mentioned....several times.
I guess this is one of those new half topic threads if a religious words are used.
:rolleyes:

Nice job, it only took you 3 replies to play the victim card. :clap:

OK, for the slow kid in the back:

The original topic in this thread is the NFL cracking down on churches for hosting mass-viewings of the Super Bowl.

The topic is not kvetching about churches not being like they were in the June Cleaver days, when no one would dare think about doing such a horribly secular thing. Things that obviously have led to a lack of respect for said institutions, the increase in leech abuse by our teens, global warming, and cohabitation without the sacrament of marriage by felines and canines.

If this ever gets back to that original topic, I'll be back.

I think Prince's wardrobe is a malfunction to beging with. LMAO

A victim? ROFL.... a victim I'am not.
It only took you 1 reply to elevate yourself above all us ignorant posting reeruns. The mass viewing rule is as old as the Superbowl, the churches having an issue over the rule is something new. Forgive me for choosing to comment on such a current, seemingly sensitive issue to you. Maybe rehashing the old rule over is more refreshing to you, but its not to me.

I hope the NFL sues Arrowman. I attended his SB party last year and they showed the game on about 12 TVs including a projector in their restaurant which was shut down for the private party. I had no idea it was against regulations or I'd have certainly elected not to attend.

What does an NFL police look like?

ROFL

Got it, you're not a victim, you just play the card.

If you had been commenting on the church vis a vie the NFL rule, you'd have a point. As you spent your posts bemoaning the fact the church was hosting the party in the first place....

And I certainly didn't elevate myself over anyone, but if you want to call yourself ignorant... :shrug:

Perhaps I should though, it might boost my standing on the most arrogant poster thread. I'll consider it.

I doubt the NFL could afford more than one.....

hundred thousand of those.

"Slow for the slow kid in the back" is not a condescending comment?
Maybe an extreme example could help you come to a better understanding of how conversations come about. If the thread said "Porn Industry cracks down on churches mass viewings". I would think, wow the churches are at an all time moral low. You would think, gee I wonder if the Porn industry can enforce it. Neither comment is improper for they both pertain to the thread. You obviously have some kind of an axe to grind with anything even remotely religious.

What does the little red button in the back do?

Touche. I didn't elevate myself over "everyone" as you alleged, just you. I'll gladly admit to that. Got to bump my standing on the arrogant poster thread, don't you know.
:rolleyes:
Help, Help, I'm Being Repressed!

I'll choose someone considerably more eloquent than me to express my sentiments on that nonsense:



With that settled, I like the notion of adopting the ED-209 for the NFL. Perhaps we can put him in charge of the replays. That might cut down on stupid challenges like Marty's during the Bolts/Pats game.

May I also suggest hiring Judge Dredd to handle the NFL police duties?

wonder if the nfl police have been sendin spies to check all the electronics outlets sales records for screens sold in the last couple yr 55" and up. expect a knock at your door on sunday if you're the proud owner of a really big screen.

I'm glad to see that you finally agree with me.

Regarding elevating myself over you specifically? Sure, why not? :shrug:

Especially the big ones sold to churches...oops didnt mean to say churches, Adept may still be lurking.

ROFL

What's the problem with saying "churches"? I've used the word in my own posts. I've also used [gasp] the word "pastor". Granted, I'm not being obtuse.

Perhaps i'm too busy elevating myself. Hmm...maybe I should get go bo's help with that. I have it on good authority he's an expert. ;)

No.... reguarding the fact that my comments were applicable to the thread all along and you just couldnt understand them because of one of the particular agendas you have, tends to cloud your mind at times.

And you thought I was surprised to find out an Arrowhead deputy dawg read the planet,well that was nothing.

So I suppose my local VFW is going to get into trouble too. What a bunch of jackasses.

Well nothing really..... well that is as long as they are not used in association with religion.

Look C-Mac, I'll spell it out one last time:

People were discussing how the NFL was cracking down on churches hosting parties. You didn't comment on that. You commented on how tragic it was that churches were hosting these parties in the first place, because it doesn't fit your "particular agenda" of what a church should be. That's what I commented on. Nothing more, nothing less.

Was I condescending? Yes. Bravo Foxtrot Delta.

As for your personal beliefs, I've said several times in other posts I couldn't care less if you or anyone else worship Jehovah, Allah, Loki, or the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man. Nor do I care if you discuss these issues in threads about them. I've contributed my opinion to those threads, and wouldn't deny anyone else the right to do the same. I'm also on record as saying in my eyes, all superstition is equal. I won't pretend I believe otherwise, just as you won't.

However, feel free to continue to misintepret and misrepresent my comments as just bashing religion in general to further your "particular agenda".

Man, what a bunch of asshats... ROFL

...and here I thought you finally got it. Sorry Adept, this is not a thread to discuss your religious beliefs, this thread is about the irony of several churches being all upset about an old NFL rule. Please stick to the topic.

:LOL:

Actually, there's no irony in that at all. Lovely deflection, though.

Main Entry: iro·ny

Pronunciation: 'I-r&-nE also 'I(-&)r-nE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -nies
Etymology: Latin ironia, from Greek eirOnia, from eirOn dissembler
1 : a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other's false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning -- called also Socratic irony
2 a : the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning b : a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony c : an ironic expression or utterance

You are correct in that perhaps I should not have brought my personal beliefs into this thread in response to your presumption about my beliefs. That actually may be an example of irony. Mea Culpa. ROFL

I find it ironic when just a few years back, it wouldnt have been given a second thought to have a Superbowl party at the local church. Well that is as long as its OK with you for me to think its ironic. Anyway, sure glad to see that your willing to come back to the subject of the thread.

What a friggin crock of s**t. Don't they have anything better to do than to pick on fans of the game. I might approach my church and ask them to host a party to. Good God ya'll.

Kind of scary at first. But when you realize that the NFL is too cheap to hire and train fulltime copyright enforcement robocops and these would just be part-timers who sit on RadioShack shelves during to offseason, the fear wears off a bit.

They said no bigger than 55" TV. Nothing was said about a wall.

Loophole!!

A LiteBrite Super Bowl Party?

Brilliant!

Or the Cincinnati Bengals

Back when the rule was made, there were no 55" TV's, just projections.
Its funny because size is always relevant to viewing distance. A jumbotron from the opposite side of the field is a very very small viewing area.

Aren't they having a party at the RCA Dome?

Nfl is god.

They can do what they want.

Hey, not bad. I'll give you credit for making the effort to find the original thread. :clap:

looks like they are going to reschedule a lot of those parties

"Church 'Super Bowl' festivities may go on
NFL says just don't charge admission fees to parties"

news link

Superbowl tithing probably is one of the biggest takes of the year for a lot of these churches.