Dave Anderson writes about the proposed West Side Stadium in his column of December 29 th, “But what do Jets fans say? Where would the season-ticket holders like to see their team play?” In order to answer his own question, he wanders through the Meadowlands parking lot in arctic conditions, polling the true tailgate die-hards. He finds that most of those brave enough to tailgate last weekend are opposed to a stadium in Manhattan, since they may not be able to tailgate there. That's kind of like polling members of the NRA to find out if Americans are in favor of gun control. He might have found quite a different response if he had taken his "informal poll" at the mass of cars stuck in the parking lot 4 for over an hour after the Seattle game, which, I might add, is a fairly typical experience for those of us trying to leave the Meadowlands after a game, since there is no real mass transit alternative to the automobile, unlike the situation at the proposed West Side Stadium.

The Detroit Lions fans have adjusted to a downtown stadium. There have been no revolutions, no uprising of the fans demanding additional parking lots where they can tailgate. No, instead, the Lions, a lousy team, are filling their lovely stadium.

SPORTS OF THE TIMES

Tailgaters Want Jets to Stay or Go to Shea

VEN with the gaudy architect models, nobody really knows what the proposed $1.4 billion retractable-roof West Side football stadium in Manhattan, the one that would be constructed on a platform above the railyard between 30th and 34th Streets near the Hudson River, would look like.

But just about everybody has an opinion about it.

The Jets, the mayor and the 2012 Olympic promoters say build it. The nearby residents, the environmentalists and the Madison Square Garden executives say don't build it.

But what do Jets fans say? Where would the season-ticket holders like to see their team play? Would they rather stay at Giants Stadium? Would they prefer a new stadium built near Shea Stadium, the Jets' previous home? Or would they favor a West Side stadium even though a site with mostly garage parking would eliminate tailgating as they know it?

I conducted a very random and very unscientific survey of about 150 Jets fans alongside their barbecues and beer in the Giants Stadium parking lots in the chilly hours before the last two Sunday home games, against the Patriots and the Seahawks.

Of the fans I visited, only 15 hoped the West Side stadium would be built, with an overwhelming sentiment in favor of a site where they could tailgate. Some 80 fans wanted to stay at Giants Stadium, and about 55 preferred a stadium in Queens or on Long Island. Understandably, most of those 135 votes were influenced by the proximity of the stadium or proposed stadium to their homes.

"But tailgating is the most important factor," said Henry Zabatta, who drives two hours from his home, in Kingston, N.Y., to Giants Stadium, where he would prefer the Jets to stay. "Your team can't always be great, but the tailgating is."

At a nearby barbecue, Bob Wilson, a Long Islander from Massapequa, spoke in favor of a new stadium near Shea or on Long Island as he pointed a long fork at platters of prime rib and filet mignon alongside bowls of shrimp, scallops and chicken wings.

"We do what our wives won't let us do at home," said Chris McLaughlin of Allenhurst, N.J., glancing at the food. And most fans want to do it before they walk into the stadium to watch the game. Sometimes even after the game.

"We've got DirecTV under that tent," Bob Massa of Middletown, N.J., said. "We hang around until the traffic's gone."

Ever since Giants Stadium opened in 1976 (the Jets moved there in 1984), tailgating has become as much a part of pro football in the New York metropolitan area as the game itself.

"We don't come here for the quality of football," Rich Cardinali of Scarsdale said.

The Jets would clinch a wild-card berth in the playoffs with a victory Sunday in St. Louis, and they've had a winning record in four of the last five seasons. But in the franchise's 45 seasons since 1960, they have been pro football's best only once, when Joe Namath and the 1968 team won Super Bowl III.

"But even when the Jets are horrible," Betty Ann Bryant of Landing, N.J., said, "we light the grill again after the game."

In rebuttal, the Jets say they have done several formal telephone, e-mail and town hall surveys with some 3,000 to 4,000 season-ticket holders, asking them about tailgating, ticket prices and where they would prefer a stadium.

"Over all, the West Side came out on top," Jay Cross, the Jets' president, said in a telephone interview yesterday. "Giants Stadium was second, Shea third."

Cross promised there would be "accommodations" for tailgaters in various areas inside the West Side stadium. He also said fans could gather at what he described as a street fair and in local bars and restaurants. But Jeanine Carter of Bayside, Queens, said, "Without real tailgating, it'll just be a big ol' corporate scene."

In my survey, the 15 fans who preferred the West Side had understandable reasons. Harvey Kent lives on the Upper East Side. Jim Flynn and his family live in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

"We'll tailgate at home," said Jan Flynn, "and take the subway to the game."

Joe Befumo of Fredon, N.J., preferred a stadium on the West Side because "it would be the Jets' own home, the most important thing."

Dave Weiss of South Brunswick, N.J., professed to know a factor favoring a West Side stadium that the Jets, the mayor and the Olympic promoters haven't mentioned.

"All the tailgating," he said, "will be done at Liberty Park on the Jersey side, then you take a ferry."

Asked how he knew this, Weiss said, "I can't say, but I know."

Even so, not everybody will want to travel to Liberty State Park opposite the Statue of Liberty, tailgate there, take a ferry to a dock near the stadium, watch the game, take another ferry back to the park, then go home.

Judging by my very random and very unscientific survey, most Jets fans would prefer to stay at Giants Stadium or go to the Shea Stadium area because a good tailgate party is much more of a sure thing than a good Jets game.