Jesus Takedown

The NFL is going after churches for copyright infringement for showing the "Super Bowl" on a large-screen TV. As much as I favour the elimination of organized religion, I really wonder what the hell the NFL thinks it is achieving by pissing off their fans this way. Have they learned nothing in the past ten years about pointless copyright enforcement actions which garner bad publicity? This is much like when the ASCAP went after the Girl Scouts for singing songs around the campfire. My hope is that those devout Christians have realized that this "sport" is a vile gladiatorial spectacle with no appropriate role in their lives, and leave them starving.

You see, choosing one's battles unwisely could make one look like a greedy bastard. The Immanuel Bible Church's 200 members are unlikely to fork over cash for a special use permit. The NFL's argument that large groups "shrink TV ratings and can affect advertising revenue" doesn't hold water: what exists there is a counting problem, not a viewership problem. I fully support treating churches like any other business (including taxing the holy fuck out of them), but most people don't feel that way – so the NFL has bought itself some really bad publicity. Hopefully it will prompt some pious souls to sit out this year's mammon-fest.