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.

You know that statement you hear at the end of every game? “This telecast is copyrighted by the NFL for the private use of our audience. Any other use of this telecast or any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL’s consent is prohibited.” Well, they mean it. At least they mean it for churches with big screens. Public exhibitions of NFL telecasts on screens larger than 55 inches are forbidden, unless the showing is at a local watering hole — bars are exempt from the law.

The league claims that lots of people looking at an oversized screen (except in bars) lowers TV ratings, which cuts into its precious revenue stream. “We have no objection to churches and others hosting Super Bowl parties as long as they … show the game on a television of the type commonly used at home,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told The Washington Post. “It is a matter of copyright law.”

The Rutherford Institute, a Charlottesville, Va., civil liberties group specializing in religious freedom issues, has threatened to sue the NFL on behalf of an Alabama church and is looking for someone in Congress to sponsor legislation that would give churches the same exemption bars enjoy. And former NFL quarterback and current congressman Heath Shuler may be their man. In a letter sent yesterday to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Shuler expressed his disappointment in the league’s stance on the issue. “It makes no sense to me that churches would be prevented from providing a safe, friendly, and alcohol-free environment for fans to watch the Super Bowl,” Shuler said in a press release. “As a former player and an active church member, I have participated in these fellowship events and understand their value.”

Meanwhile, some churches have altered their plans and will show the game on smaller sets or have their gatherings in private homes.

“There is a part of me that says, ‘Gee, doesn’t the NFL have enough money already?’” Steve Holley, a pastor of a church in the Washington, D.C. area, told the Post. “It just doesn’t make sense.”