Response from the NFL

A few months back, I read an article regarding the NFL intervening in a church's effort to have a superb**l party on their property. There argument was that a projection TV they planned to use would violate copyright laws, which apparently apply to churches but not to bars. The whole thing just ticked me off and I sent them a letter about it; something I am always threatening to do but rarely actually follow through with. You can read my initial blog about the issue and the letter I wrote by following this link. Sorry, but the original article is no longer available through the link I provided on my blog back in February.

To me, the whole thing is an issue of discrimination against churches. Churches are non-profit and are seeking family-friendly ways to gather. I was disappointed in the NFL when I read the initial article, but their flippant response to me annoys me further. I recieved this in the mail yesterday:

"The National Football League has absolutely no objection to churches and others hosting Super Bowl viewing parties as long as they do not charge admission and that the game is shown on a television of the type commonly used at home.

We are simply following copyright law and have done so consistently with regard to hotels, theatres, museums, schools, arenas and other such venues. [may I note no mention of bars here]

This is nothing new. It is a matter of longstanding policy and the law.

We have no rules that relate to viewing at home on any type of television.

Sincerely,

NFL Public Relations"

To me it is just another reason to loathe football. The church could only show the Super Bowl on smaller-screens. I can't remember the dimensions, but the size would have made viewing the game in a large group very difficult. Oh, and they were asking everyone to contribute $5 for snacks. In the NFL's eyes, that constituted charging admission. Do they restrict bars to certain sized TVs? Do they tell them they can't charge a two drink minimum during special events? NoOOooo. The whole thing just fries my cookies. Why can bars, who make a big profit on booze during the event, show the big game on a big screen, but a church, which only seeks to profit souls for the Kingdom, can't? Grrr. If you read my original letter you'll see they never even tried to answer that question. Public relations my foot.

Now I'm off to find my happiness again.