A consumer’s guide to the best and worst of sports media and merchandise. Ground rules: If it can be read, played, heard, observed, worn, viewed, dialed or downloaded, it’s in play here.

What: “The Power and the Glory, the Original Music & Voices of NFL Films”

Price: $16.95.

“Feel the Power.” That’s the cry of the National Fund-raising League, which never underestimates the power of the almighty dollar linked with professional football fans. Television contracts with as many networks as the league can tie up, pricey personal seat licenses so fans can buy the right to spend more money to purchase season tickets, officially licensed NFL products so fans can pay to advertise the league, luxury boxes for corporate giants, sponsorships for stadiums, uniforms, kicking tees . . . name it, it’s for sale.

Didn’t name this one? It’s still for sale. Put the classic sounds of NFL Films on a compact disc--using the legendary voice of John Facenda and the music of Sam Spence, and eliminating that “silly” video portion--and the NFL junkie can’t put a price on it. The NFL, of course, did.

The CD has 36 selections of orchestrated music and script from NFL Films favorites such as:

* Facenda on the fierceness of the game: “Pain is inevitable.”

* Facenda on battles in terrible weather conditions: “Go face them and fight them. Be savage again.”

* Pittsburgh Steeler Coach Bill Cowher proclaiming that 75 degrees every day would be nice, “But that’s not football.”

* A Marty Schottenheimer pregame speech on the sideline: “There’s a gleam, men. Get the gleam!” Sideline inspirational genius that has never propelled a Schottenheimer-led club past a conference championship game.

* And an old-timers’ favorite: “They’re killing me, Whitey! They’re killing me!” (If you can name the coach who yelled this, this disc is for you.)

All this glory can be nabbed with change back from a $20 bill. Or, spend $1.99 on a VHS tape, record it one of the million times it runs on television, and actually get to watch and hear the action. Sure, there’s no CD package but, in two words, it stinks.

Can’t downplay the power of America’s game, though. If you’re one of those fans who needs background music while rearranging officially licensed products on your shelves at home, and you live by the premise that 17 of 365 days are the most precious of the year . . . and you can get some sap to buy the CD for you, it’s a cool thing to have. That’s how I got mine.