The Wall Street Journal-20080202-WEEKEND JOURNAL- Sports -- Super Bowl XLII- God vs- Gridiron- As Church Super Bowl Parties Are Busted by NFL- Some Pastors Try End Runs
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WEEKEND JOURNAL; Sports -- Super Bowl XLII: God vs. Gridiron; As Church Super Bowl Parties Are Busted by NFL, Some Pastors Try End Runs
Full Text (1021 words)One unlikely match-up Sunday pits two powerhouse opponents against each other: the National Football League and the Christian church.
On one side are church-sponsored Super Bowl parties with big-screen TVs, soft drinks and some soul-saving talk at halftime. On the other are NFL lawyers threatening to crack down on unauthorized use of the game. The league, which owns both the Super Bowl name and the broadcast, has restrictions that limit TV screens to 55 inches at public viewings, except at venues like bars and restaurants that regularly broadcast sporting events. Airing the game at events that promote a message, including a religious message, is forbidden.
Churches have long used the Super Bowl to draw newcomers and build fellowship among congregants. But in the face of legal threats, many are scaling back. Last month, a congregation of deaf Christians in upstate New York scratched plans to broadcast the game with closed captioning after learning they might be sued. At the First Baptist Church in Summerfield, N.C., the Rev. Richard Odom canceled plans to host 500 people. "God didn't command us to watch the Super Bowl," he says.
Others have rebranded their events as "Big Game Fellowship" or "Superb Owl" parties to avoid the trademarked phrase Super Bowl, or moved their parties to restaurants or congregants' homes to dodge the league's screen-size restrictions for "mass out-of-home viewings."
The conflict flared up last February when the league ordered Fall Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis to cancel plans to show the game on a 12-foot-wide screen. Now some religious-rights advocates and pastors are challenging the rules. Yesterday, North Carolina Democratic congressman Heath Shuler, a former NFL quarterback, sent a letter criticizing the league's stance to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Mr. Shuler says that if the league won't budge, he plans to draft federal legislation that would exempt churches from the screen- size restrictions.
"It's unfortunate that the NFL has given exception to sports bars," Mr. Shuler says. "If they're going to give exceptions, let's give one to faith groups that are having a positive influence on people's lives."
The Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based civil-liberties group that defends religious rights, is threatening to sue the NFL on behalf of an Alabama church.
Walnut Street Baptist Church, a 700-member congregation in Louisville, Ky., has thrown Super Bowl parties over the last decade using an LCD projector to cast a giant image of the game onto a wall in its youth center. After learning about the NFL's copyright rules last February, the church dramatically scaled back its party, which typically draws 70 high-school and middle-school students.
During tomorrow's game, church leaders plan to project a 55-inch image of the game -- the legal limit -- and have renamed the Super Bowl bash, calling it a "big game party." The church has also scrapped plans to have a local athlete testify about his faith during halftime, to avoid breaking the rule on promoting a message during the event.
The Rev. John Newland of Fall Creek Baptist Church now jokingly refers to the Super Bowl as "the game which shall not be named" to inoculate himself against copyright watchdogs. Instead of gathering in the sanctuary, the church has planned a dozen small viewing parties in the homes of its Sunday-school teachers.
Last year, leaders of Southeast Christian, a Louisville, Ky., church that draws 18,000, had ordered barbecued pork and chicken for 700 people, put up Super Bowl banners and moved in sofas and recliners for their party. Then they heard about the restrictions and switched to a 55-inch screen. The 700 expected guests shrank to 400, and those who made it could barely see the game. "I left at halftime," says church member Tad Douglas. The church is holding this year's party at a Tex- Mex restaurant.
Brian McCarthy, an NFL spokesman, says the league isn't targeting churches. League attorneys have also gone after Wisconsin movie theaters, Las Vegas casinos and the New England Aquarium. NFL lawyers in past years have mailed out hundreds of cease-and-desist letters and have hired undercover investigators dressed up as fans to prowl for unauthorized broadcasts. However, Mr. McCarthy says, "we're not going into churches with rulers."
The restrictions are based on federal copyright laws that give owners protection. At stake is an estimated $200 million in Super Bowl ad revenue. The NFL says restrictions against big screens at public parties protect the game's TV ratings, which translate into Super Bowl advertising rates of $2.7 million for a 30-second commercial.
Using the phrase Super Bowl on church fliers or Web sites implies an NFL affiliation, say league lawyers. That's trouble if people are led to believe that the neighborhood church is an NFL sponsor, for example, or that the league endorses the Immaculate Conception.
Still, Rick Kurnit, a New York intellectual-property attorney who has worked with companies like Nike, says such trademarked phrases as the Super Bowl are allowed free use under the First Amendment as long as it doesn't damage the brand or imply an official endorsement. And it's unlikely anyone would believe a halftime testimonial reflects an NFL position, he says. Mr. Kurnit believes a case against the NFL could win in court. "They are exaggerating their ownership rights in saying that any use is prohibited," he says, "when there is a broad scope of fair use."
About 50 churches have contacted the NFL this year to ask about hosting Super Bowl parties, says the league spokesman. The copyright issue has made headlines in Christian publications and generated debate and soul-searching on pastors' online message boards. "People don't want to do anything illegal in the name of Christ," says Daniel Smith, pastor of Trinity Wesleyan Church in Southgate, Mich.
Others are making adjustments to meet the regulations. The Keystone Hills Baptist Church is organizing five house parties for church members in Sand Springs, Okla. The church Web site announces: "You know the Super Sunday game we're talking about? . . . The one with all the expensive funny new commercials and that is usually a blowout by the 3rd quarter? . . . Yeah, that one."
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Adam Thompson contributed to this article.
