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| Brought
into existence for the 1993 season, "Green Hats" (officially called
"NFL Sideline Television Coordinators) virtually run the game. As
the official liaison between officials, the television director
and the NFL "Eye in the Sky" observer, Larry and the other Green
Hats tell officials when to play and when to call that all-important
"TV-timeout." Working alongside an on-field network television coordinator (commonly called Orange Sleeves) by the networks, Prosi is literally accountable for every second of every NFL game played at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. "The NFL did a study and found that after each of the 18-20 televison breaks taken during a game, between 10 and 20 seconds were often unaccounted for," he explains. "Green Hats were brought in to control the game and reduce the overall time it takes to play an NFL contest." Since the inception of the Green Hats, the pace of the game has been streamlined in order to better meet the NFL's goal of having games last approximately three hours. Television is allotted five commercial breaks per quarter and it's the Green Hats' job to make sure the breaks are taken on time and that play is efficiently resumed after a commercial. "If the producer doesn't go to break on time, they run the risk of coming back in the middle of a play. I work with the 'Orange Sleeve' to communicate when a break is needed and when it's time to re-start play." A 22-year veteran of the Chargers sideline, Prosi has a view of every game that most people would pay for. Instead, as an employee of the NFL, he receives $125 per contest. He jokes that at Super Bowl 32, "People were paying $300 or more for a ticket. The NFL actually paid me $350 to watch the game from the sidelines." During the week, Prosi works as an insurance broker. He has not missed a Chargers game in five years and has great appreciation for what he calls his "main job." "Normally the only people who get this close to the game are players, coaches and officials," he points out. "I'm a big Chargers fan and I'm fortunate to get such a close up view of the team." He often hears players talking strategy during a game and even interacts with them on occasion. "Junior Seau and other Chargers know what I do and often ask me if the next break is a :40 second timeout or a full two-minute break. Knowing that helps them prepare for the next play or take a rest." Being close to the action has it's consequences Prosi admits. "Randy Moss ran over me earlier this season and John Carney knocked me over from behind, but sometimes it's hard to avoid collisions because the sidelines are crowded. It makes me feel like I'm part of the game." END |
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