NFL UPDATE: "Damn the NFL We Will Show Football In Church!!!''

[DeSwiss]

Church To Defy NFL, Show Super Bowl With Projector

WRTV - Indianapolis
Fri Feb 2, 9:24 PM ET

An Indianapolis church on Friday said it will defy the NFL's demand that churches not use projectors to show the Super Bowl, saying it is taking "a stand for what's right."

Second Baptist Church, located 3705 Kessler Blvd. North Drive, will proceed with its plans to show the game Sunday -- using a rear-projection TV screen -- following an afternoon service, an assistant to the church's senior pastor told 6News.

"The NFL implied that it has a problem with the venue and medium that local churches conduct ministry," the senior pastor, the Rev. David Greene, said in a press release. "We want to save souls by any means necessary. Football, traditional service, street ministry -- it doesn't matter.

more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/wrtv/20070203/lo_wrtv/10916537

The following comments are made from 100% :sarcasm: and no animals were hurt or injured in its production....

*** - Ya know, its really, really good to see the church standing up on principle here. I mean, what better way to show love and forgiveness for your fellow man than to watch 22 guys on a field trying to knock each other down, inflict pain, injury and literally try to tear one another apart? And then, do the "holy dance" over their victim's prostrate bodies after they smashed them into the turf? I'm sure Jeebus would approve. And I suppose the Rev ought to be given credit for telling the truth. He makes no bones about the fact that he's using football to put asses in the seats.... er... I mean, "save souls." I just hope nobody at this INDIANAPOLIS church is a Chicago Bears fan. They could get killed at church......


Hey!!! NFL, here ya go.
Rev. David Greene, Fan

[cosmik debris]

1. I love it

I love it when religious organizations declare themselves above the law!

This is going to be fun to watch!

[ButterflyBlood]

2. I don't why a church would show the Super Bowl, but I support their right

Same thing as showing it at a bar.

[cosmik debris]

4. There are legal issues here

That you don't seem to be familiar with. The NFL has the intellectual property rights to the broadcast. They alone have the right to decide who can show the game.

[DeSwiss]

5. Unfortunately....

...the copyright laws say that sports bars can show these events on large-screen projection TV's. No one else can. So they don't have a right to show them except on smaller TV's.

see: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070202/LOCAL/702020470

[ButterflyBlood]

8. So if I owned a huge TV, I couldn't hold a Super Bowl party at my own place?

Even if that's within the law, it's still copyright enforcement gone amuck.

[cosmik debris]

11. There is a juicy irony here

Intellectual property law requires that the owner of the intellectual property enforce their rights against all violators uniformly--NOT selectively. So the NFL must either grant permission to the church or sue the church. A suit would be a public relations disaster and probably not recover significant damages. But NOT suing would leave the door open to anyone who wanted to abuse the property rights of the NFL.

And of course there is the more delicious irony (to me anyway) that the religious organization can flaunt the law with impunity. Proving that religious organizations are not held to the same legal standards as the rest of us--which creates PR problems for churches who claim that they are discriminated against.

:popcorn:

[JDPriestly]

6. Precisely

No doubt the right-wing beer companies that sponsor and hype the games don't like churches because they can't sell as much of their beer in churches as they can in the so-called "sports bars."

Sorry. I'm a cynic when it comes to corporate sports as entertainment industry. The real goal of the games is to transfer money from the pocket of hard-working people into the pockets of the corporations that sponsor the events. The real points are scored on the bottom lines of the corporations that sell viewers on the idea of spending hours of their lives watching other people kick balls around. The viewers would be much better off if they went down to the local park and got some form of exercise.

The whole super bowl mania is a scam.

[DeSwiss]

9. JD, I agree completely....

But I'm a cynic about much, much more. And as DUer frylock says:

"No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up."

[AnnieBW]

3. WWJS?

Who Would Jesus Sack?

[DeSwiss]

7. LOL!!!

Go Jeebus Go!!! Go Jeebus Go!!! Go Jeebus Go!!! Go Jeebus Go!!!

[ClintonTyree]

10. "taking a stand for what's right".....

these poor people are being persecuted by the NFL because they're christians. :sarcasm:

Perhaps obeying the law may be the right thing to do. :shrug:

[soswolf]

12. they DID NOT imply they had a problem with churches,

in fact, they said: (From the Yahoo! News article linked above)

The statement said the NFL "has absolutely no objection to churches and others hosting Super Bowl viewing parties as long as they do not charge admission and show the game on a television of the type commonly used at home."

Rev. Greene could get a smaller tv, instead of a projection screen, and he'd be all right.

What it boils down to is dollars and cents.

NFL charges "x" dollars per minute of advertising. They get this figure by saying "Nielsen ratings say that "y" number of people watch, therefore we charge "x" dollars."
If mass numbers of people are watching a theatre-like broadcast, that Nielsen number goes down. They might not be able to charge as much next year. Out-of-home viewing is not measured by Nielsen.

My issue with this isn't the copyright infringement. Hell, it's not even about the money. The church wagging its figurative ass in the face of the law is what bugs me.

Just because you don't pay taxes doesn't mean you can break the law.

[Vinnie From Indy]

13. The NFL has no problems with millions of bars showing the game

I guess the NFL is OK with all the bars and taverns that show the game, but not one or two tiny churches. Why in the world would the NFL want to pick a fight like this. Had they ignored it, nobody would have noticed.

Any bets that the NFL escalates?

[EvolveOrConvolve]

14. I sympathize with the church

The NFL has taken a ridiculous stance, and if they'd simply ignored the problem, it wouldn't have been an issue.

However, the church declaring that it's above the law really pisses me off. Churches already receive huge exemptions, and exceptions are often made to satisfy a specific church's needs. What kind of example is this church setting for it's younger members? That it's okay to flaunt the law for Jesus? That the law is something that only applies to "other people"? That an inconvenient rule can be ignored?

[zbdent]

15. Should be interesting, especially when the NFL owners pretty much

are Repuke-funders ...

The NFL vs Organized Religion ... pass the chips and salsa, this is going to be fun to watch ...

[bumblebee1]

16. What????

no popcorn, peanuts, sandwiches or drinks?

[zbdent]

17. Pizza and beer ...

and wings ... don't forget the wings ...