NFL Blocks Church Super Bowl Party

[HaMMerHeD]

Personally I think people shouldn't throw around the word NAZI a a pejorative as it is an affront to people who actually suffered at their hands.

I'm not really sure what football ever did to you, but I'm sorry for whatever trauma you suffered.

Personally, I think that editing for hardware review sites is the job of people with double-digit IQs who can't find a way to contribute something useful to society.

(The above is parody and shows about as much intelligence as the quote.)

When the "NFL administration" starts killing people, particularly based on their race or religion, then come back with that Nazi nonsense. You deserve a suspension from the fora, editor or not - maybe I do, too, based on my first sentence.

Perhaps I used the word "Nazi" too freely, and if anyone was truly offended by it, I apologize. It does not, however, change my mind of the opinion that the NFL is draconian and authoritarian in the way they treat their viewers and manage their product, and that I think any decent organization should be pleased that people want to gather and appreciate their product, not threaten them. It also does not change my opinion of football in general.

I find it ridiculous in the extreme that they presume to own the words "Super" and "Bowl" if they are used in the same sentence.

 

[seanbear]

I'm pretty put out with the NFL myself right now. I still love the sport of football. I understand that not everyone does, thats fine. I just don't understand how choice of sport has any bearing on one's character or intelligence any more than does one's choice of sundae toppings.

 

[nvpx]

Come on guys, the poor NFL is barely making any money on the "SU**R B**L" (I don't want any trouble for using words that I don't own). It's the same story as the music/movie companies, they need every cent; have a heart.

All I know is that traffic has been a pain today on Miami Beach and will probably get a lot worse over the weekend. Tried to go for happy hour this afternoon with the wife and all the places were so full of people we ended up going home. By the way, I saw an awful lot of signs everywhere with those forbidden words.

Go B**rs (don't own that word either, I guess)

 

[LeTUOtter]

Surprisingly, this isn't all that unexpected. A large church gathering like this, especially one that was advertised for, would draw a lot of attention. And copyright laws governing sports contests have been the same for many years now. To present a game on a large format screen (to a gathered audience, not a private viewing) requires written consent from the NFL and the network. It's not that hard to do, either. After all, like it was stated earlier, cities have gotten permission to show the game on the sides of whole buildings to the general public. And sports bars have negotiated for permission as a course of doing business as well.

The flaw here was that they used copyrighted slogans and names in advertising (big no-no), and they were originally charging admission (another huge no-no). How those ideas even made it out of the ROOM during the brainstorming session I'll never know. Almost everyone with the most rudimentary legal insight knows that you can't do that. But once that got made public, then the screen size (which would have prolly gone unnoticed otherwise) was brought to light.

As much as I hate to side with the big guys, the church screwed the pooch on this one. Can't blame the NFL for actually enforcing its own rules.

 

[jwp27577]

Wow going after a church. That should really make all those Super. Bowl (there is a period there so that the two words are not being used together, don't want to be sued ) advertisers happy. And they are within their rights to charge to cover the cost of food and drink, as long as they don't make a profit

The ratings thing doesn't make any sense either. If you do have a ratings box then when you watch TV out of the house you are supposed to record it in a TV viewing diary and send it in to the Nielsen company. So even if some people with a box went to the church party they would still have to tell Nielsen that they watched the Super. Bowl.

And the 55" TV thing has got to be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. It is being broadcast over public taxpayer owned airwaves. If I want to project it on the side of a barn I am perfectly within my rights to do so.

 

[nvpx]

Why all those advertisements about buying a bigger than 55 inch TV to watch the SU**R B**L (I don't own those words) from all the stores? Are they not worried that they are contributing to this criminal behavior? Wouldn't they be liable for facilitating this crime wave?

 

[Babbster]

Wow going after a church. That should really make all those Super. Bowl (there is a period there so that the two words are not being used together, don't want to be sued ) advertisers happy.

It may not make advertisers - who have to pander to the illiterati - happy, but it sure doesn't bother me one bit. Churches get away with enough as it is. The fact that this particular church is being disingenuous in their presentation of the conflict (on their website they don't even mention the fact that they were originally charging admission to the event) doesn't make me sympathetic to their problem.

All they had to do was not advertise, not charge (from the start), and use word of mouth (which should be a community church's specialty) to get people through the door into their family-friendly Super Bowl viewing. Instead, they decided to flaunt what they should have known was a copyright/trademark violation and attract the attention of the owners of said copyright/trademark.

Plus, their complete cancellation of the event is just an attempt to gain sympathy for their "predicament." It would take very little effort to a) go to maximum 55" on their projector (assuming they want to comply with the NFL) and b) have congregants bring in a few more TVs to ensure a relatively large crowd could comfortably watch the game together.

Of course, this assumes that they have a leg to stand on with the restriction on screen size. I bet that they'd have a lot of difficulty (and, of course, a lot of bad press) trying to take a church to court in order to enforce that particular provision...

 

[Fooshnik]

I apologize. It does not, however, change my mind of the opinion that the NFL is draconian

As a publicist for the NAAD, I have to say that we are offended by this statement. There have been peaceful dragons all throughout history, it is only a few bad seeds (and some dragons who had some very inconvenient coughs) that have ruined the reputation of dragons everywhere, particularly in the Western world. Please do not compare us to the NFL, they are a bunch of arrogant pigs.

Thank you,

Olybrius
National Association for the Advancement of Dragons

 

[seanbear]

As a publicist for the NAAD, I have to say that we are offended by this statement. There have been peaceful dragons all throughout history, it is only a few bad seeds (and some dragons who had some very inconvenient coughs) that have ruined the reputation of dragons everywhere, particularly in the Western world. Please do not compare us to the NFL, they are a bunch of arrogant pigs.

Thank you,

Olybrius
National Association for the Advancement of Dragons

Couple of problems problems with your little satire there, sparky. We weren't defending nazis or the NFL. Still, I'm glad the torture and murder of several million Jews could bring you a chuckle!

Now please die of gonorrhea and rot in hell.

 

[LabRat]

I just happily christened my toilet the "Super Bowl". I then dropped a load of nasty into it.

I have never heard of a 55" TV law, which suggests to me that this is some attorney's half-assed idea. Tell someone "its the law" and they light believe you. Doesn't matter if you are full of shit (I'm not! I dumped it into the "Super Bowl"!), you wont get in trouble for it.

Congrats NFL, you just convinced me to watch a movie instead of your game this Sunday.

 

[oldpablo]

Screw those LDS bastards and everything they represent. Actually, I hate football as much so let them have their orgy.

Uh............ what? Where was LDS mentioned? Try baptist?

 

[seanbear]

Uh............ what? Where was LDS mentioned? Try baptist?

I don't think it would have made a difference. They could have been Baha'is or Methodists and the post would have been the same.

 

[Jon8RFC]

I could be wrong and I often am.
As far as I know the church could play the "Super Fucking Bowl" on the side of a barn with the whole town watching and record it and show it over and over as much as they want. It's broadcast and should fall under "fair use". If they dont want you to watch it on your equipment then they cant Broadcast it.. period.

I believe "fair use" applies solely to home users.

I'm quite sure that recording and displaying publicly would go against the disclosure you can always hear at the end of the game. Something like "any unauthorized reproduction or rebroadcast without the prior consent of the NFL is strictly prohibited" is what it is.


Is anybody here an attorney that can explain the law and if 55" tvs in homes are subject to infringement? I'm not worried, but I'd like to know if it applies to home users because this would be a wonderful thing for the EFF to pick up on and fight, since it would be outrageous if home users couldn't view the game--especially if their set is HDCP compatible!

 

[seanbear]

I believe "fair use" applies solely to home users.

I'm quite sure that recording and displaying publicly would go against the disclosure you can always hear at the end of the game. Something like "any unauthorized reproduction or rebroadcast without the prior consent of the NFL is strictly prohibited" is what it is.


Is anybody here an attorney that can explain the law and if 55" tvs in homes are subject to infringement? I'm not worried, but I'd like to know if it applies to home users because this would be a wonderful thing for the EFF to pick up on and fight, since it would be outrageous if home users couldn't view the game--especially if their set is HDCP compatible!

Ah, but it is neither a reproduction or a rebroadcast. It would be shown live. complete with commercials, so its not like anyone's losing ad dollars.

 

[oldpablo]

Yeah this isn't like renting a movie and then charging people to watch something that doesn't belong to you. The s*p*r b**l is being broadcast for FREE on TV anywhere, AND they are saying they have no issue with anybody watching it at their house. ZERO dollars are being lost here. It really does boggle my mind.

 

[Fooshnik]

Couple of problems problems with your little satire there, sparky. We weren't defending nazis or the NFL. Still, I'm glad the torture and murder of several million Jews could bring you a chuckle!

Now please die of gonorrhea and rot in hell.

You don't read much on the internet do you? Couple of problems with your offense to said sardonicism. "Nazi" is used as a label to refer to those with Nazi-like characteristics, as draconian is used as a reference to those who suffered under the laws of Draco. Secondly, as your experience reading internet forums grows, you will eventually notice that in reality no one really gives much of a crap about your opinion, so taking it too seriously only does a disservice to yourself and to those who suffer around you. Additionally, Nazis killed far more Russians than Jews, yet you fail to even acknowledge this. Clearly the Cold War era propaganda you so gleefully soaked into your brain has desensitized you to their sufferings. This is tragic and I hope you spend some considerable time researching the atrocities committed by both the Nazis and the Japs, and return more educated and enlightened.

Also, your wishing death from a lingering disease upon others does little to support your self-perceived notions as a defender of the humanitarian cause.

...
On topic, it was the National Football League who promoted the phrase "Super Bowl" and gave it the notoriety it has. Even though it sounds generic it would mean nothing if not for the NFL, so they're free to do with it as they like if granted the trademark. However going around telling people what they can and cannot say is not going to go over well under any circumstance. They're eventually going to blow their feet completely out from underneath them and no one will care other than those who profited from them.

 

[seanbear]

You don't read much on the internet do you? Couple of problems with your offense to said sardonicism. "Nazi" is used as a label to refer to those with Nazi-like characteristics, as draconian is used as a reference to those who suffered under the laws of Draco. Secondly, as your experience reading internet forums grows, you will eventually notice that in reality no one really gives much of a crap about your opinion, so taking it too seriously only does a disservice to yourself and to those who suffer around you. Additionally, Nazis killed far more Russians than Jews, yet you fail to even acknowledge this. Clearly the Cold War era propaganda you so gleefully soaked into your brain has desensitized you to their sufferings. This is tragic and I hope you spend some considerable time researching the atrocities committed by both the Nazis and the Japs, and return more educated and enlightened.

Also, your wishing death from a lingering disease upon others does little to support your self-perceived notions as a defender of the humanitarian cause.

...
On topic, it was the National Football League who promoted the phrase "Super Bowl" and gave it the notoriety it has. Even though it sounds generic it would mean nothing if not for the NFL, so they're free to do with it as they like if granted the trademark. However going around telling people what they can and cannot say is not going to go over well under any circumstance. They're eventually going to blow their feet completely out from underneath them and no one will care other than those who profited from them.

In my opinion, there is a subtle danger in the overuse of the word, in that as horrible as the Holocaust was, the word Nazi refers, in accepted historical use, to the members of the National Socialist German Workers Party, and to the policies and platforms of that extremist organization; using the term loosely weakens that association. In particular, any term like "Soup Nazi" that trivializes the term, or reasonably directs the attention of an audience to superficial and even stereotypical aspects of behavior often associated with the Nazi party and the conduct of Germans of that era, is likely to contribute to misunderstanding in the minds of younger people who are not deep students of history. We who remember, or who have stood at Auschwitz, or Dachau, or have witnessed the horrors of that period in some direct way, owe the past and the future better witness than to allow that.

The Nazis were not dangerous because they were autocratic, dictatorial, or lacking a sense of humor; they were dangerous because of the combination of hubris, racism and psychopathic lack of empathy they institutionalized. That word should always conjure the reptilian reaction of Herman Goering in the dock at Nuremberg to questions of responsibility. That word should bring to mind the rabid, saliva throwing face of Hitler exhorting the uniformed masses at a Nuremberg rally in 1935, in the Leni Riefenstahl film "Triumph of the Will". And it must stand only, clearly, eternally, for the persons who led the decade of horror between those iconic historical bookends.

There is nothing funny about that word, the arguments of buffoons and apologists notwithstanding. And the complacency that might ever allow it to be funny, or more broadly referent, is all that is needed, was all that was needed, for the horrors it uniquely labels, to again flourish.

I also take the point of the families I came to know on visits what used to be Czechoslovakia and Beylorussia, most of whom lost some relative in the 20,000,000+ killed on the Eastern Front. For the evil didn't begin and end in the camps, and it didn't stop on VE day, or at the conclusion of the War Crimes trials.

Tens of millions died 60 years ago, in large part, because of the determination of some few thousands for domination and fulfillment of their pathological social visions and narcissistic racial dreams. In Germany, in Italy, and in Japan common cultural themes of superiority and manifest destiny played out, more coldly and chillingly than ever before in human history. In the end, we will never know the final human cost of that madness. We do know that we must not permit that level of insanity and hatred to be loosed on the world again.

 

[Lethal]

This ain't the Soapbox.