nfl will crush you

The NFL™ will crush you
Have you noticed lately that the NFL™ has clamped down on usage of the term Super Bowl™ to describe it’s signature contest? Check out any TV or radio ad for a big chain electronics store, and you’ll hear the actors constantly refer to “the Big Game” when attempting to sell you a large screen TV.

What crap. First of all, the NFL™ has bajillions of dollars. Do they really feel the need to go after those who mention the freaking game by its name? Do they have lawyers constantly combing local radio/TV ads to see if someone dared use the name Super Bowl™? One would think the cross promotion would benefit the league, somehow drumming up more interest for the annually highest rated show on TV.

What prompted this? Was the name Super Bowl™ being misued somewhere, to sell something unsavory? Was there a Super Bowl™ special at a local massage parlor?

But wait, it gets better.

As you might have heard, a small church planned on having a get together for the game, and asked each guest to pay a small fee to help defray the costs of the food, etc. The game was to be shown on a large screen TV (apparently larger than 55’, which is an important detail). Somehow, the NFL got wind of this, and isn’t it a bit scary that this would ping the legal radar of an organization that large? It swiftly moved in with a cease and desist order.

As stated before, the NFL™ has tons of money, and seemingly is always looking for more. I have no problem with creating revenue streams and running a successful enterprise, as the NFL™ has clearly done. It’s when something gets so big and starts looking for ways to screw around with small timers that drives me nuts. Do they really think Circuit City or Best Buy is taking money out of their pockets by trying to sell someone a big screen TV before February 4th? This, coupled with the creation of the NFL Network™, designed to funnel the TV money directly to the League without having to pay the networks, smacks of trying to kill the goose that is laying tons of golden eggs.

For the sake of the NFL™, let’s hope that doesn’t happen.