Earlier this month, WMB and WoW both reported on NFL restrictions that prohibited churches from showing the Super Bowl on big-screen TVs. In a letter to Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a vocal critic of the policy, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote that the league would no longer object to churches showing the Super Bowl — regardless of screen size — as long as no admission is charged and the event is held at a place the church uses on a “routine and customary” basis. “[The NFL has] decided to set aside profit for community spirit,” Pastor Steve Holley of Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, Va., told The Washington Post. “I’m encouraged by that.”

Years ago, when I was a mere child, the Super Bowl was played on Sunday afternoon. Then, with higher ratings and ad revenues to be had, its time slot slipped toward prime time, causing a conflict for those who observed the Christian Sabbath by going to Sunday evening services.

At first, churches resisted, keeping to their usual schedule. But after a few years of dwindling numbers, pastors began to see the Super Bowl as a community outreach opportunity, inviting members, especially youth, to bring their unchurched friends to the fellowship hall for an evening of food, fellowship, and football. And as the audio and video capabilities in these houses of worship have improved, so has the allure of these events. Where else in town could you go to watch mighty gridiron warriors larger than life on a six-foot screen that a few hours earlier had beamed the words to “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”?

Of course, there were the GoDaddy.com ads and halftime wardrobe malfunctions to avoid, usually with an alternative, football-themed evangelistic video or two to take their places. But it looks like these outreach opportunities have been snuffed out. No, not by some angry, legalistic deacons or elders, but by the National Football League.

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