Every year our youth ministry provides fun resources for all the churches and youth groups that have Super Bowl parties. Last year, a wrench was thrown in the works … the NFL cracked down on churches showing the game on the big screen.
Seriously?
Yep… no joke. This actually doesn’t surprise me. Any Monday Night Football fan remembers that little disclaimer they make about the game not being for public showing, yada, yada, yada. Well, some churches have these giant Super Bowl parties and charge admission.
Recently, the NFL has been cracking down on these large gatherings watching the game on the big screen.
Here are the two issues: collecting money, and screen size.
The Daily Progress out of Charlottesville, VA has an article talking about this situation. This article talks about the Indianapolis church that was told they couldn’t show the game on the big screen. A Charlottesville lawyer, John W. Whitehead, wants to fight this, saying that “he’d sue if he could only find a church willing to sign on as a client.” (Really? A lawyer wants to sue?)
The article goes into detail:
At issue is a law and corresponding league rule that says the Super Bowl can’t be shown to gatherings on a screen larger than 55 inches.
Whitehead, who has made a career in part by defending religious groups on free speech issues, says that rule keeps most churches from being able to host Super Bowl parties and show the game.
“It’s absurd to say that anyone in a larger crowd can watch it on a 55-inch screen,” he said. “They can’t.”
The league’s policy is modeled after the federal Copyright Act, and does not unfairly target churches, according to an NFL spokesman.
“Our position on this is that we have absolutely no objection to churches and others hosting Super Bowl viewing parties as long as they don’t charge admission and they show the game on a television of the type that is commonly used at home,” said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello.
Is a lawsuit the answer?
Here’s my two cents: Fair or not, it’s a law. We need to obey it.
But don’t worry… we can still have Super Bowl parties, IN HOMES. That’s right. Personally, that’s more fun anyway. It’s more intimate. For large churches or youth groups, what a great way to connect people with others in their area. Have “area Super Bowl parties.”
And as for the money? Don’t charge admission, just make it a “bring your own snack” party. Admission is a bag of Doritos or a 2 Liter of Pepsi.
A few examples of what this can look like…
From Jonathan’s Resource Ezine from TheSource
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