skellam
Puritan Board Freshman
I found this article as I was perusing the Wall Street Journal today. Apparently, many of the Super Bowl parties in churches around the country are violating the copyright of the NFL and churches are looking for ways to get around the rules. Whether or not churches should be hosting Super Bowl parties in the first place is not a question raised in the article. But, whether churches should skirt restrictions by seeking ways to advertise without using the words "Super Bowl" is discussed.
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."