Why Your Favorite Bar’s Super Bowl Party Might Be Illegal

Philadelphia Eagles fans at Chickie’s & Pete’s, where owner Pete Ciarrocchi says he’s been very careful not to violate any laws with his Super Bowl (aka Big Game) party. Some bars aren’t so careful. (Photo courtesy Chickie’s & Pete’s)

You’ve probably seen lots of advertisements on social media for Super Bowl parties at local bars and restaurants. In most cases, they don’t actually refer to the Super Bowl as the Super Bowl. Establishments tend to refer to is as the Big Game. This is because the NFL does not mess around.

The NFL owns the trademark on “Super Bowl” as well as trademarks on all sorts of other names and phrases. And it is perfectly willing to get the lawyers involved — through cease and desist letters and lawsuits — when it believes those trademarks are being infringed upon. Other phrases on the protected list include “Super Sunday,” “National Football Conference,” and “American Football Conference,” among many others. Think you’re going to be cute and try to get away with using “Superb Owl” instead of “Super Bowl”? Won’t work.

The NFL has also gone after people and businesses for using team names, the trademarks for which it owns. For instance, the NFL took legal action against Pittsburgh Steelers fan-site domain names like Steelerbabe.com, which no longer exists as a result. Technically, your local bar can’t even use “Philadelphia Eagles” in its Super Bowl — sorry, Big Game — party advertisements, unless it’s part of an official sponsorship deal, though I haven’t found any examples of the NFL going after bars for using team names on their ads. That would seem a bit… draconian.

Though most places do tend to steer clear of “Super Bowl” usage, lest they face the outrage of the NFL behemoth, others go right ahead and employ the phrase, either because they don’t know or don’t care about the prohibition. I’ve seen more than a few bars in suburban Philadelphia advertising “Super Bowl” events for this Sunday; I’m not naming them for what should be obvious reasons. I did ask one of the bars about it and they didn’t comment. The bar is still using “Super Bowl” in its ads several days later. (If you’re wondering, I can use the phrase “Super Bowl” all I want, because it’s for editorial purposes and not commercial use.)

“I’ve never messed around with the NFL,” says Pete Ciarrocchi, owner of the Chickie’s & Pete’s sports bar empire, who knows a thing or two about trademarks. “I’ve had to go after people who try to sell ‘Crabfries’ [or ‘Crab Fries’] to protect my trademark on that, so I understand. Besides, I’ve got the biggest sports bar there is, so if the NFL were going to go after anyone, they would come after me! Maybe some of these small places can get away with it. But why bother? Everybody knows what the ‘Big Game’ is.”

But trademark violations aren’t the only way that a bar’s Super Bowl party might run afoul of the law. The bar I asked about using the phrase NFL-owned name for this Sunday’s game is a good example of this. That bar is also advertising a package deal for its Super Bowl party, in which you pay a set price and get open bar for four hours. Alas, Pennsylvania state law prohibits open bar events, with very limited exceptions that include private, catered events. Even those bottomless mimosa deals you enjoy at brunch are illegal in Pennsylvania. Talk about draconian!

And while millions of people will be betting billions of dollars on the Super Bowl via FanDuel, casino sportsbooks, and the like, that little $20-a-block Super Bowl pool you entered at your neighborhood bar is still, yep, illegal. Think I’m just being a fearmonger? The fact is, the Pennsylvania State Police’s Liquor Control Enforcement officers regularly pay visits to bars, including to bust up their Super Bowl pools. In 2018, I lost $10 in a bar’s Super Bowl block pool — not because I didn’t have winning numbers, but because LCE agents raided the bar, found the envelope and pool sheet in the cash register, and confiscated it all.

Go Birds.

While most of us will be watching the Super Bowl at our favorite bars or at home, Ciarrocchi is one of the lucky ones who will be watching at the stadium in New Orleans, along with his wife, three kids, and other relatives. “We love going to the Super Bowl,” he adds. “We’ve been to more than 20.”

Crabfries ™ sales must be good!