Football - Churches Cancel Super Bowl Parties

Many Super Bowl parties, which were planned in the churches of Indianapolis and in other churches across the country have been cancelled after being informed that such gatherings and get-togethers would violate the league's copyright policies, which ban mass viewing of the super bowl outside homes, except at places like sports bars.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello informed that such gatherings are permissible as long as the churches respects the prescribed guidelines like not charging admission fees to come and watch the Super Bowl, or not using TV sets bigger than 55 inches. The objective is to comply with the Super Bowl copyright and respect the contract that NFL has signed with various networks that will broadcasts the game free of cost.

Aiello reiterated that the NFL has already informed public meeting places like churches, hotels, cinema halls, theaters, schools, museums and even casinos about these policy guidelines.

However, church leaders feel that the Super Bowl is an annual event, which gives an opportunity to members of a community to meet, eat and enjoy the game together. Some churches even planned to charge nominal fees to allow a limited number of members to party and watch the game together on a big TV screen. Few churches like the Fall Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis even went to the extent of advertising and promoting the Super Bowl Bash on the church website. But finally, after knowing about the Super Bowl’s copyrights and NFL’s policy guidelines, many churches across the country, who have no intention of breaking the law, have cancelled their Super Bowl parties.