Secrets of the sideline: take a trip the NFL bench area, where the men are large, the rules are strict and the accoutrements are many.(NFL Preview)

An NFL sideline is at once an office and a hospital room, a spy's perch and a psychiatrist's couch, a fraternity house and a cafeteria. The bench area is 40 yards of turf or grass where the players sit and talk when they're not smacking each other upside the head.

You know the sideline is full of blood, sweat, tape and attitude, but a fax machine, Maalox and candy bars? This truly is a multifunctional space and always has been, but not to the degree it is today. Talk to a man who has been lifting the heavy loads and moving the big boxes for decades and you'll learn that while the game has changed, the load has changed even more.

"When I first started, there were a couple of buckets of ice water on the bench with a ladle and a stack of Dixie cups," says Todd Hewitt, who just finished his 36th NFL training camp--26 as the Rams' equipment manager, another 10 tagging along while his father did the same job. "Now some guys even complain about the taste of the water."

And it had better be the right water. League-wide edicts also govern Hewitt's domain; if unapproved corporate logos are visible, for instance, big fines could follow.

The examination of an NFL sideline is a study of minutiae. Each piece of gear facilitates the top physical and mental performances of players and coaches. Stocked with benches, tape, smelling salts and enough Gatorade to drown in, the sideline is an operational base that allows a team to perform at its best.

As important as any sideline piece, HEADSETS allow the coaches on the field to keep in touch with the coaches upstairs.

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