Posted on 02/01/2007 12:49:16 PM PST by Publius Valerius
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- 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.
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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.
The church will likely abandon its plans to host a Super Bowl party.
< snip >
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.
"We have contracts with our (TV) networks to provide free over-the-air television for people at home," Aiello said. "The network economics are based on television ratings and at-home viewing. Out-of-home viewing is not measured by Nielsen."
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"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."
Other Indiana churches said they are deciding whether they should go through with their Super Bowl party plans, given the NFL's stance.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
Someone better tell Rush Limbaugh, he's been bragging about his nine foot screen.
If you have a flatscreen TV larger than 55 inches, the ghost of Pete Rozell will come and tinkle in your corn flakes.
Christians aren't supposed to gamble, but few would be against playing cards (and not gambling).
Yes. And I'll take your 55+-inch TV.
This includes AWANA program for children and our teens have programs as well.
Thanks for a reminder as to why I've never watched the super bowl and never will.
And no Raider fans dressed as Darth Vader! Please!
Best post on the thread. Thanks for that perspective.
Well, that cleared it up.
Tell me again ..... what law was the church breaking?
I don't think their plans were to show it on the Sabbath. They were going to show it on Sunday.
The only "separation" the government is truly concerned with is separating us all from our money.
You've said several times that the church was planning to charge an admission fee. Is this true, or a lie? If you're lying, you need to stop saying that.
Do you read FR on the Sabbath? Do you post comments? Do you watch TV on the Sabbath? Do you go out for lunch, go to the grocery store, or require your pastor and church staff to WORK on the Sabbath? How do you observe the Sabbath?
Where do you get that this church was going to cancel their regular service (with a sermon) and instead show the SuperBowl?
I'm likely as against "seeker sensitive" churches as you (I don't know whether this church is seeker sensitive or not), but you seem to be assuming the worst in this case.
With all due respect, I don't care if a hundred Freepers came on here to say that Sunday was the Sabbath. Scripture tells me that the "Sabbath" is Jesus Christ, and we find our rest in Him (Heb. 4), not in a day. In fact, Col. 2:16 says, "Therefore, let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink, or in regard to a festival or a new moon [Old Testament observances], or to a Sabbath day -- things that are a mere shadow of what is to come. But the substance belongs to Christ." The argument about which day is the Sabbath reveals an ignorance about the fact that Christ is our Sabbath rest, and this argument falls into the worst kind of mistake that dominates in much of Christianity -- i.e., placing people back under the law of the Old Testament rather than under the grace found in Christ.
Maybe it's the word "mass" (out of home viewing) that has the NFL confused, since they seem to think it is they who should be worshipped and can control private TVs.
Ah excuse me. the Sabbath is on a Saturday. remember? God withheld manna on that day to confirm to the world what day it really was. But go ahead and call Sunday "the Lord's day"....its just not Sabbath.
Another thread, from an AP article, said that the church was planning on charging admission (probably to cover cost for food, and maybe as a fundraiser), but when the NFL first raised its objections, the church decided to abandon the plan for admission. Then the NFL raised the objection of the TV screen larger than 55 inches.
So what? How does the NFL's contract with the broadcast networks bind the church? Unless the church has something in their contract with the broadcast host or the company hosting the broadcast, such as the cable or satellite company, how is it that the NFL can say what a church can or can't do as to private viewership?
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