NEW YORK -- Pat Summerall is trying to talk the NFL into a new method of measuring first downs.
Summerall, a former receiver and kicker and a broadcaster for more than 20 years, is proposing a laser-based system that projects a green stripe onto the field to mark the exact spot of a first down. It's similar to the yellow line used by networks but would be visible to players and fans in the stadium, as well as TV viewers.
Summerall's presentation at the owners meetings last week received a lukewarm reception. League officials view it as a long-term project at best.
Alan Amron, the inventor, thinks the laser could be tested in preseason games this summer, but top league officials are skeptical.
"I don't think it's anything we'd do any time soon," said Bucs general manager Rich McKay, chairman of the competition committee.
Pat Summerall wants to see the game move forward. The longtime NFL broadcaster (and former player), in conjunction with First Down Laser Systems (www.firstdownlaser.com), spoke to NFL officials last week in Phoenix about a new system of a different stripe — a green stripe projected from an in-stadium bank of lasers to mark the line to gain for first downs.
It's similar to the yellow line superimposed on the TV image for home consumption, but it's visible to the players and fans in the stadium as well, under the lights or in bright sunshine.
"From what I've seen," Summerall says, "it would be hard not to be a believer."
Tests were conducted at Texas Stadium in Irving with members of the Arena Football League Dallas Desperados drilling on the field while lasers lit up the first-down line. The NFL's competition committee looked at this innovation at two meetings and discussed its practical and cosmetic effects. Some members were more cautious than others.
"It seemed to us it was still a work in progress and a very expensive project that would need more development," says Tampa Bay general manager Rich McKay, the competition committee co-chairman.
Alan Amron, the system's inventor, acknowledges the expense (one-time setup of $300,000-$500,000 per stadium, plus operating costs) and the questions.
"They asked things you'd expect: Is it going to damage anyone's eyes, what do we do if the lights burn out, what do we do if the power goes off?" he says.
Short answers: Replace the bulbs ($10,000 apiece but they last 10 years), maintain a backup plan (the chains could endure), employ a technology (Class II continuous wave laser) safe for unsuspecting eyeballs.
Testing could begin at preseason games in August, Amron says. A decision may come when owners meet in May in Philadelphia. Giants Stadium is one possible venue because, with the New York Giants and Jets as tenants, it is host to four preseason games.
The laser's ultimate use may rest on these experiments. Is it decorative or a serious tool?
"I think we'd see it as more an in-stadium enhancement than a help for competition," McKay says. "I think the players would tell you they have a pretty good idea where the first-down sticks are."
