Church Super Bowl Parties Illegal According to NFL

According to a story by Lilly Folwer of the Religion News Service, the NFL claims law prohibits churches or any other groups from showing the Super Bowl on a screen of over 55 inches in size. The thinking by the NFL apparently is that large groups cut into the almighty TV ratings and thus adversely affect advertising revenues. I suppose it's okay as long as the screen is 55 inches or less. My question is, what's the difference? Millions of people will gather and watch the Super Bowl on smaller screens anyway.

What is the league position on groups of people gatheriing in homes for Super Bowl parties? May they have screen over 55'' without violating the law? Would the league rather church goers not watch the game at all? There are many people who would attend church, then catch only the second half of the game. Where does the league get the 55 inch deal? Is the NFL familiar with Tivo or VCR's, and DVRs? There are so many ways around this ban, why does the league bother? Do they and advertisers not have "bean counters" to estimate how many viewers are watching the Super Bowl at venues ranging from churches to private parties to Hooters?

So many Super Bowl viewers watch the game in large groups at one of the above, the NFL will never convince me that they can't extimate such things. I have viewed every Super Bowl since the game was introduced in 1967 when I was 11 year old. Some of them have been viewed at private parties with 2 or 3 at church gatherings. I usually just watch the game at home with my wife and son in recent years. You see, I like to watch the game with the commercials being a sideshow.

Watching the game in public means either obnoxious fans rooting for the other team, Clueless Charlies who haven't watched a football game since last year's Super Bowl, people who only watch for the ads, etc. I would rather be able to watch the game, be able to hear the announcers, who occasionally have valuable information to add on injuries and so on. When watching in public, I invariably have been seated behind someone who wears out the carpet between his seat and the bathroom, the concession stand, or beverage table, usually asking "what happened?"

That still doesn't change the way I feel about others' right ot view the game in public or the miserliness of the NFL in taking this stance. The NFL is known as the "No Fun League" in some circles for exactly this sort of thing. Rant over and enjoy the game, even if you're only watching for the commercials. I enjoy some of the Super Bowl commercials myself, but find others in bad taste or irritating. Just stay out of my Rotel and don't double-dip the chip ala George Costanza.