Columnist Sal DeFilippo: NFL gives up-close fan seating (Ar)test run

Sal DeFilippo

Friday, Dec. 17, 2004 | 10:09 a.m.

Sal DeFilippo's pro football picks column appears Friday. Reach him at sal@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4076.

Imagine that it's Monday night, and you're settling into a nice, comfy leather chair just as the Patriots-Dolphins game is ready to kick off.

You're equipped with a sweet plasma TV, so you can catch every replay in style. You have someone to bring you food and drink upon request. Life is sweet.

But, there's one problem. The Dolphins' defensive coordinator is blocking your view of the field. "Hey, down in front! You -- with the clipboard -- can you go tell that guy to move over a little to the right?"

That's going to be reality for some fans this weekend, as the NFL is experimenting with a few seats on the sidelines, only 9 yards from the field, for high rollers. A similar set-up will be used in Sunday's Houston Texans-Chicago Bears game.

All right, so these heated chairs will be elevated a little to allow fans sitting in these posh seats to see the action unimpeded. Plus, they really will have those plasma TVs.

Still, this is pretty scary stuff. After watching the Pistons-Pacers NBA brawl, you'd think the league might not be so receptive to the idea of bringing fans that much closer to the players.

Yet a recent USA Today story on the subject reported that New England vice chairman Jonathan Kraft says he figures the Patriots could have 40-44 sideline seats next year with users possibly allowed to "walk on the field the same way players do."

Perhaps this is the NFL's way to repair the strained fan-player relationship. But why stop there?

Maybe the fans in these seats can take turns running out to pick up the tee after every kickoff. Those chain-gang guys are all 400 years old -- maybe they could let those guys rest in the nice chairs and the fans could take over for a few series.

How about helping the referee with those difficult replay calls? There's room for two under that hood. Or helping carry the heavy Gatorade cooler to be dumped on the winning coach?

They could start some of these renovations right away. In the case of the Bears game, they might as well let a few fans play quarterback. A few weeks ago, Jeff George was sitting at home watching football from his chair, too, you know.

Maybe the fortunate few in Miami close to the action Monday can call a few plays for the coaches, or at least make conference calls to Ricky Williams or something. Make it like a reality show. "Survivor Backfield," or perhaps, "The Coordinator."

Or, how about this crazy thought? Maybe we should just leave the fans safely in the stands, let the players use the field and let the high rollers sit in luxury boxes, with a nice view, catered food and televisions everywhere. Now there's an idea.

Mayor vs. Man of Many Voices

With three weeks remaining in the Sal's Celebrity Selectors competition, where local celebrities pick games against the point spread, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman continues to hold a slight lead, but Mirage headliner Danny Gans has made quite an impression in the past few weeks.

Goodman is 26-15-1 against the spread this season, a half-game ahead of Gans at 26-16 in the battle for the traveling trophy, the Golden Nerf.

Defending champion Rita Rudner, who headlines at New York-New York, is third at 21-19-2, followed closely by Monte Carlo master magician Lance Burton, the inaugural Golden Nerf winner, at 21-20-1.

The competition concludes at the end of the regular season.

A day early

Because the Sun will not publish on Friday, Dec. 24, or Friday, Dec. 31, my column for the final two weeks of the season, and the accompanying celebrity picks competition, will appear in Thursday's editions of the Sun.

This week's picks: A 2-1 week against the number pushes me a game above the .500 level for the season at 21-20-1. This week, I'll take the Panthers plus 3 1/2 at the Falcons, the Seahawks plus 6 at the Jets and the Browns plus 10 against the Chargers.