STAYING AT HOME ... NOW THAT'S A PRIME TICKET.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH

The price you pay if you're brave enough to call yourself a sports fan these days can be very taxing. It goes way past the need to cough up a few dead presidents for an entry pass into an arena or stadium of choice.

But why hassle over semantics? Let's go to the hard facts.

Survey data from TNS Sport, a company that's commissioned to run these kind of things, sought to gauge what percentage of people actually make it out to a game. The results aren't really fantastic.

Of those who consider themselves ``sports fans,'' almost 60 percent say they ``rarely or never'' attend a pro sporting event. Of those willing to take it up a notch and call themselves ``avid sports fans,'' about 40 percent fall into the ``rarely or never'' category. Asked about their attendance at local, non-professional sporting events, the numbers don't change that much.

As a sportswriter whose press pass guarantees relatively easy access to pretty much every sports gathering spot that needs coverage, I could have guessed the numbers might shake out that way based on conversations with friends and fellow sports fans. But now looking at the hard evidence, there's more cause to pause.

What makes people stay away?

It has to be more than just the obscene ticket price for a blimp-view seat.

``It's because it can be a grind unto itself,'' theorizes David Carter, the head of the Sports Business Group, executive director of USC's Sports Business Institute and a Trojans alum who admitted to needing some extra packing and strategizing before happily going out to Saturday night's homecoming game against Oregon at the Coliseum.

``Door to door, it can be a 15-hour personal commitment (for a college football game that involves tailgating). So, at a time when we're all over-scheduled and trying to balance family time with work and all the rest of it, attending a sporting event really can become as much of a hassle as the day-to-day and week-to-week issues we all have to deal with.

``It simply takes more time and effort to go to a game. For me, going back 10 years ago, sports was always perceived as something that provided a break, a relief. But nowadays, when you factor in traffic, food, costs ... I'm not convinced going to a game doesn't add to the stress in your life.

``It takes a really special event for people to really decide its worth going.''

Apply that theory to attending a typical USC football home game.

For Saturday's 7:15 p.m. kickoff, carloads of ticket holders were angling for parking spots around the Coliseum and USC campus not long after sunrise. Seriously. Even those who'd purchased special ``Cardinal and Gold'' packages that guaranteed privileged parking spaces.

For many, it's a personal choice to enjoy the day, party with friends and avoid the bumper-to-bumper nudging that'll come later. But for others, it has become a necessary evil, part of the deal now being associated with a program that has had national success and guaranteed sellouts.

When it's all over, figure in at least another hour-plus for outgoing traffic. Depending on where you live, you may not have landed in bed until after midnight.

The fun never ends.

Is it enough to make you just want to watch on TV at home, where food prices are more reasonable, there's no waiting at the restroom and the home entertainment center is much more accommodating?

As the wide-screen technology morphs into high definition and surround sound, the best seat in the house for a sports event might often be in your house.

``How many times do you hear a fan at an event say: `What a great game, I can't wait to watch it at home?''' Carter said. ``The in-house experience no longer pales in comparison to being there.

``Home may also be where some sports fans would rather be for fear of missing other sports content. Specifically, if you're some hardcore rotisserie geek, why would you want to be stuck at a stadium when you could be at home on your computer tracking every passed ball that happens that night in baseball?''

Has it come to the point where L.A. dreads the day when the NFL returns -- not just because it interrupts the best-game available TV programming, but provides another reminder why we don't have the time, patience, money or stamina to do battle with the masses just for the experience of seeing it in person?

``The consumption patterns of the sports fan have changed, to where you no longer need to be there among the avid fans to enjoy a game,'' Carter said. ``It's an interesting thing to ponder when you're relaxing on a Sunday morning reading the newspaper about all of yesterday's sports news.''

Now that's the ticket.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, 5 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption (fan)

Scott Olson/Getty Images

(2) A view of the empty stadium seating at the start of a Florida Marlins game at Dolphin Stadium in April.

Doug Benc/Getty Images

(3) GREG SCHIANO

(4) TYLER BRAYTON

(5) J.D. DREW

Box:

(1) sunday punch

(2) The Pop Quiz

(3) HOT ... LUKEWARM ... COLD FISH

(4) FANTASY FOOTBALL

- Matthew Kredell

(5) WHO GOES? WHO KNOWS