Giving out handheld TVs at NFL stadiums cheats fans

	It's bad enough that fans use cell phones so much during games. Do they need handheld TVs, too? Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Sometimes in my perambulations around New York, I run into the total non-sports fan. I tell them what I do, and they usually make a condescending remark along the lines of, "Even though I don't like sports, and think they're a waste of time, I don't mind that you enjoy them."

My standard response -- no, it's not "up yours" -- is to tell them that they are missing out on a powerful experience. Where else can you find 60,000 people in the same place at the same time, all ecstatic about the same thing? Fans of NFL teams or strong college football programs get to have their own Woodstock several times a year. The collective euphoria is the best thing about being part of a sports audience.

Which is why I hope a new NFL experiment fails.

This season, the league is trying out a new product for in-stadium entertainment. They will be making available handheld televisions showing a full slate of NFL games via DirecTV's Sunday Ticket. The league tried out the devices once last year, during a Chargers home game in December, and are extending the tests this year.

Anyone who's been in a modern stadium knows from where this experiment springs, because it extends an existing trend started by scoreboard improvements. The modern generation of stadium scoreboards gives better out-of-town scoring updates and highlights than had been seen a generation ago. They also blast video entertainment during the game's in-between moments. The goal: to make the fan at the stadium feel like he is in his living room.

These handhelds take that one step further. Now you can game-surf. The one in front of you isn't holding your attention? Look for a better one on another channel.

Even these scoreboards and sound systems are too much for my taste. I don't need visual and audio stimuli blasted at me during every timeout. But at least your attention is still somewhere in the stadium. You can only get so caught up in a scoreboard.

But another game in your hand is a different kind of distraction, in the place where you need it least. The biggest criticism of the television (and Internet and video-game) era is that it has pulled people away from community centers and into their own private worlds. Maybe. But I feel confident in this: The football stadium is the last place you should be having a private experience.