(MIAMI BEACH) - The arena is set, the players are in place and the spectators are speculating.

It's the pinnacle event for the National Football League. Cream of the crop teams going head to head. The stakes are always very high.

For Art Basel Miami Beach 2005, it's the same game, different turf. Long before I marched into the Miami Beach Convention Center for this euphoric event, I decided that I was really going to be very alert and soak it all up. I would be a sponge ... a fly on the wall ... a fly on a sponge?

Anyway, yes indeed, Art Basel Miami Beach 2005 was about art. In a gargantuan way. It's too rich for my blood, but it's truly ANY art lover's paradise. Upon entering, it became immediately clear that I would be overwhelmed if I didn't come up with a quick game plan. So, I decided to pass to the left and knock off one booth at a time. Perfect. I'm still not certain that I saw all of the 2000 offerings, but some of my favorites included: David Salle's orange-swirl, oil on canvas concoction called, "Explorer" 2005. It's 96" by 120" and features jet planes in flight and a fedora in the middle. In this single painting, Salle captures many of my own thoughts about art, travel, life and why more men should wear fedoras. He is clearly someone I could have lunch with.

I also loved Fernando Botero's still lifes. They aren't pudgy like his people, but they're politely plump with that misty, glowing sensuality that he has perfected. One look at "Watermelon" 2002, his 15" by 15" depiction of two melons sitting on a table in a mellow room, makes your mouth, well, water.

James Rosenquist always leaves me spellbound. All I need to see is his signature on a giant, blank canvas (has anyone tried that?) and I'm sold (rhetorically speaking, of course). Fortunately, "Screen Test" 1978, his gigantic oil and metallic paint on canvas makes much more of a dramatic statement. It's a fantastic orchestration of a close-up of a sunglass wearing, woman's eye along with a "swooshing" paintbrush, an upside-down safety pin and upside down book with what looks like transparent container lids and red, blue and green polka dots. I don't know what it means, but I love it.

Also, I was dazzled by the dark drama of Israeli artist Avner Ben Gal's untitled figurative pieces that employ heavy felt pen markings on paper. They're jolting, black, smeary paintings that are great. The artist is from Tel Aviv.

Despite everything I saw and loved, I had this nagging feeling that Art Basel Miami Beach was really about what we don't always see. Then, I witnessed it.

There were dozens of famous galleries with display booths here. I walked into one of them, which had advertised a painting by a famous artist in one of the art magazines. I was disappointed when I didn't see the piece. I asked one of the people manning the booth about it and she replied, "Oh, that sold already!" When I asked how much it went for, she said, "$650,000!" That sounded like a high enough figure to me, but immediately, her male colleague snapped at her and said, "No, it went for higher than that!" He was actually angered by her response.

LIGHTBULB MOMENT!

To the casual observer, Art Basel Miami Beach is a wonderful art fair that has grown by leaps and bounds in only four years, but make no mistake, this spectacle is a numbers game. It's about SCORING BIG! It's about the sale and keeping galleries in business and for some collectors here, it's not about keeping up with the Joneses, but rather, leaving them in the dust. Competition amongst collectors? No!

I'm not kidding. Here are some of the things that I overheard people saying ... "She's gotta do a crapload of business just to break even!" one guy said about a dealer. "I told you it was higher than that!" another man said about a painting's price. "What? I can't afford that!" said one exasperated woman. Join the club, babe.

The only thing that outnumbered the paintings were people using their cellphones. I heard one man on his phone say ... "Buy, buy, buy! Just buy!" One woman said, "Honey, please! You should see the light in her hair! She's so beautiful!" She was referring to a really nice painting that she obviously wanted, but needed spousal approval. I thought it was nice, too. Gee, I hope she got it. I heard another guy, also on his cell tell a woman in his presence, "Sheila just dropped over 4K!" The woman replied, "Oh my God, what did she buy?"

It was a blast. Oh, and you know the "Power 100" rankings that the magazines do every year about the top movers and shakers in the artworld? I counted about a half-dozen of them here. I kept recognizing people from the big, ArtReview November issue. Sadly, I did not see Damien Hirst. I suppose that being Number ONE means everyone wants a piece of you.

Wondering about prices? That's why I'm here! Here are just a few of the paintings I asked dealers about:

Jean Michel-Basquiat's Untitled diptych 1982, 60" by 120." $3.2 million. I asked the dealer if she thought it would sell here. She didn't really answer the question. Pablo Picasso's "Femme Couche et Flutiste" 1967 drawing, $650,000. Claudio Bravo's gorgeous "Green Package" 76" by 51" oil on canvas. $450,000. Also, David Salle's "Explorer" piece that I mentioned earlier had a pricetag of 250-grand.

Don't get me wrong. There were more "affordable" works to be had. One dealer, selling lots of small Alex Katz drawings told me they were $2,800 each. Now who can't afford that?

Shortly after, I was talking with an art dealer acquaintance who I met up with briefly about the steep prices. I said, "I would LOVE to see someone walk out of here with a painting!" The dealer replied, "Oh, like the affordable art fair?" "This is the UNAFFORDABLE art fair," the dealer, who was also a visitor, said.

The air in the exhibition hall was definitely charged with selling fervor. It's all about money and one might ask, "Shouldn't it be?" After all, this IS an art fair. A charming disposition will get you a free program, but that's about it.

Finally, I still left with a nagging feeling about Art Basel Miami Beach 2005. I heard a few people talking about artists in such back-handed, disposable ways. All of the art had taken on lives of their own. The paintings were the unquestionable stars of this show. This fair isn't really about artists, although I'm sure many were present. It's really about people and their chance to get what they perceive as a hot commodity. Art stock that they hope will rise sky-high in value. A nest egg, if you will.

To be fair, it was clear that most of the people here really do love art and it was great to witness the excitement. However, would they still LOVE Sean Scully's 90" by 72" beautiful, "Red Black Robe" 2004 oil on canvas if they knew it would never increase in value?

Clearly the stakes are too high to even consider such a silly question.

Money, careers, reputations and collections are being built ... or broken. Of course, this is nothing new. It's "Business 101." Just like the NFL. Still, it's always stunning to see your beliefs confirmed before your very eyes.

After only a few years, Art Basel Miami Beach is the "Superbowl of Art." Cry "penalty" if you want, but no one will hear you or even care. They're all too busy competing for that big art trophy.