Look Out for the NFL Police This Sunday

The Super Bowl is Sunday and the NFL is continuing to confound the common fan/viewer with some pretty silly rules regarding parties and gatherings that will be watching the game. 

The NFL said no to a church group in Indianapolis who wanted to show the game to members of its congregation on the church's large screen projection television.  NFL officials spotted a flyer from the Fall Creek Baptist Church that advertised showing the game on the church's 120-inch projection screen.  The flyer used the term "Super Bowl" which is a major no-no (hence, all the advertisements that refer to the Super Bowl as "The Big Game"), and the church was going to charge a nominal fee to cover the cost of refreshments during the game. 

The NFL sent the church an overnight "cease and desist" letter.  When church officials offered to take the "Super Bowl" out of the flyer and to not charge the nominal admission, the NFL would still not agree to the church showing the game.  The reason?  The screen was larger than the NFL's allowable maximum size.   

The NFL has threatened a number of other churches across Indiana and around the country with legal action.  The league flatly said it will not allow any church group to show the game on their large screen projection televisions.  A number of planned gatherings have since been canceled. 

This was on the heels of an NFL ruling that Indianapolis Colts fans cannot congregate at the RCA Dome to watch the Super Bowl on a large screen projector. “It’s prohibited,’’ Greg Aiello, the NFL’s vice president of public relations said. “Mass, out-of-home viewing is not permitted by our television contracts.’’

The NFL reiterated their stance against mass-viewing of the game with a press release reminding not only churches and organizations, but people holding private parties of the rules of mass viewing. 

NFL PARTY RULES 

For groups that want to host Super Bowl parties -- other than sports bars and businesses that normally show televised sports -- here are the rules the NFL says must be followed:

• No admission fees (even to pay for snacks).

• Only one television (55 inches or smaller).

• No use of the words "Super Bowl" in promotional materials.

• No exhibition of the game in connection with events "that promote a message."

       From what I gather from these guidelines - I cannot have more than six or eight people invited over to my house via a printed invitation and have the 32" television in our family room tuned to the game, while also having the 20" television in our "lodge" also turned on to the game at the same time. 

       That also knocks out people who just went out and bought a 61" plasma television for the game, and who have invited a bunch of buddies over to watch the game and slam back a few beers.

       The NFL does allow sports bars and other establishments that regularly show football to carry the game and they don't have to adhere to the "mass-viewing" rules they set down for private gatherings. 

       Along with the NFL's continuing fight with cable companies over the stipulations they're placing on showing the NFL Network on cable systems, the NFL continues to alienate the people that hold the key to their future growth - the common fan.

       Their conviction on holding ground on their demands for 70 cents per subscriber for cable systems to show the network could be viewed as admirable by some, but their "mass-viewer" rules for groups watching the game is downright asinine.

       I truly believe the NFL is slowly losing their grasp on reality... 

Comments

[Tim Lake]

you're kidding me, right? This is for real? I had to go back and check to see if the links you sent were for real. They sure are.