Curt

Hoping this is relevant. In 1971, my dad was transferred from Rochester New York to Atlanta, Georgia where I was first introduced to EF by a friend. I just loved it and was hoping one day to get my own game set. Just after the school year 1973 completed, we moved back to upstate New York. My dad got me my own game set in late June for my birthday, but my obnoxious brother just had to have his teams and constantly bugged dad [ a lifelong habit it would turn out to be, the bugger - pun intended] for dad to paint him his favorite Vikings and Falcons. Patience finally won out in CHRISTMAS of 1973 when dad ordered and then painted my favorite 49ers and Lions. So, technically I started playing EF on my own set 50 years ago on "my" set on my 10th birthday but Christmas always has fond memories of what was the beginning of my adding teams and building my own solitaire league without my brother, nyah, nyah, nyah,nyah nyah. 🙂 My brother started losing interest in EF and throughout life found other ways to endlessly bug our parents for things he wanted which was great for me. It gave me my own private world to escape to. Boards and numbers of teams slowly grew and ashamedly I have to admit I was extremely selfish with my hobby. I didn't like playing with anyone for a long time, so it wasn't until much later that I learned to share. My oldest foster girl liked playing with me and until she finally beat me for the first time, EF was quite enjoyable. My nephew and his mother moved in next to my wife and me in 2005 and he graciously liked to play too but he wanted to play with me by the regulations I set up, which helped me learn to share even more. My brother visited in 2005 at which point my league had grown to 24 teams. He ordered me enough teams to fully outfit the whole active NFL which was kewl but then his mind started reeling. "Bro, you gotta get all the teams in all their past, present, and whacky Thursday home and away colors." My immediate thought was: So, once again, you are only thinking what you deem best and not what I care to do with my hobby. I use everything I got, and I don't need a bunch of extra pieces that may not get used. This is my league and while I appreciate the enthusiasm, I'll run my league the way I run my league so butt out bro." Then I calmed down and politely refused his idea. so, to him I just smile and say once more nyah, nyah, nyah,nyah nyah. 🙂 Thanks to my nephew's suggestion, I added home and away Houston Oilers for a total of 33 complete NFL teams. My schedule is set to start New Years' week and complete the season on Christmas week. Every game is a Christmas celebration for me, especially today as Covid delayed my schedule. I've been pushing a very aggressive schedule to complete season 19 on time this Christmas. I'm just a few more games away from Superbowl 19 and get more and more excited as it nears and my season 20 should be able to start 2024 as planned. Every Christmas brings fabulous memories and excitement but this one to be, will be extra special as I should finally be caught up on my EF schedule. So, with that, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. Blessings, Curt

Good luck and Best wishes from the Dallas Texas area.

Way Kewl sir. Thank you for sharing this. Let me quote you: You will be surprised how kids of all ages including teens will be fascinated by the game when you demonstrate how to play. So set aside some time to teach.......the best sports game in the world. Now, let me see if I can give an appropriate response. You are absolutely right about boundless age constraints on the love of the game. It reminds me of the time my oldest foster girl beat me for the first time when she was only 7 years old. 😞 The 2 younger girls didn't seem to be as interested in it. Since her godmother broke all ties with Texas and moved her out of state, I have no way of knowing if she enjoys it still or if it was a joy the two of us shared while we were together. A friend from church had a son who fell in love with EF the first time he came to visit. I'm not hip on this generation's slang terms but he called his friend and told him "You would not believe this game. It is totally Beast dude." I take that to mean totally awesome, especially since he ended up getting his own board later on. 🙂 So, I can vouch for a 7-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy getting hooked on our most awesome hobby. As a thank you to Terry43, quoting his "Enjoy the journey" salutation on his posts, I can only hope they are enjoying and pursuing their own EF journeys. Blessings, Curt

Really good information, thanks much...! I plan on working with these when Season 19 is complete, and Season 20 begins. 🙂

I'm basically alone here in Plano Texas, hence my 33 team solitaire league but the closest coach I'm aware of is an hour away in Keller. I have family in Aurora which is fairly close to you but they don't count because they haven't discovered the joys of EF, so good luck finding local EF enthusiasts! 🙂

True that. My thoughts exactly. I had 3 foster girls. What joy. That and EF. 🙂

Heard the phrase "All's quiet on the western front"? Plano, Texas is boringly enjoying some needed rain. In trying to catch up Season 19, I've started my playoffs but that is all with no other news related to EF [that I'm aware of]. But, on a personal note, my youngest nephew and his wife are expecting their 4th daughter next Spring, yippee skip. 🙂

As a fellow retiree who has been playing for 50 years with boards that have grown with my solitaire league along with now 33 teams for the past 17years, I can first say that retirement with health issues is not really needed to be worried about. My list of health issues is way way-long. While getting older and life changes have required that I give up Model Railroading and a 40-year music career, Electric Football remains a great joy and a favorite hobby of mine. Regarding the Ultimate sized board, it is well worth it. The fact that it is almost to perfect scale rocks! When talking perfect scale, I use this for comparison. If a man averages 6 feet tall, i.e., 2 yards, then the current bases/ figures stretching 3 yards on my Ultimate board for true scale would require a slightly larger board to where they would cover 2 yards. However, I don't know if I would want anything bigger because the Ultimate board so perfectly fits my newer larger space for my games. But for the sake of argument, let's say an even bigger board does come down the pike, it would still be worth whatever increase cost it would command. Let me qualify that a bit more for you. I don't look at it from a viewpoint of well, it costs this much. I look at it as overall cost per game I've played making it a far more economical investment. Put differently, let's say you pay $100.00 for a board then after 100 games you end up with a cost of only $1.00 per game. While I only use rookie bases and don't have uni-forms, the same principal applies so advice stands to reason, do as much as possible that makes you as happy as possible. Blessings, Curt

Ladies and Gentledudes, In the News and Announcements category I found an entry titled Tudor Fantasy League with a description of Onside Kicks published September 18 by Terry43 which includes the following: Both teams line up on their 35 yard line. I place my purple unicorn dice on the fifty yard line on the hashmark closest to me so I can see the action. I turn on the motion generators. The first player to touch the purple unicorn dice recovers the Onsides Kick. The ball cannot be advanced. He then includes a couple of really cool video examples to help better show what he means. I'm not technical enough to do videos but this leads me to an upcoming question more appropriate for Strategy and Gameplay. Kickoffs have the kicking team always lining up on the 30-yard line and the receiving team starting at mid-field to give an even 20 yards in between for both teams to cover with an onside kick. A gentle kick is made. If it touches a receiving team player, that player is free to run until tackled, out of bounds. or scores. Shorter than 10 yards requires a re-kick. The ball must travel 10 yards. If it goes out of bounds, the receiving team gets the ball at that point but if it stops in bounds without hitting any receiving team player then as many as desired players from either team may be pivoted toward the ball. From there it is a race. Whoever gets to the ball first is free to run until tackled, out of bounds, or scores. How do you perform Onside Kicks? Blessings, Curt

Ladies and Gentle Dudes, Hope all is well with you. Keeping an aggressive schedule still trying to catch up season 19 from delays caused by COVID! Halfway through the last round of regular season games is putting me close to my goal of completing the regular season by Christmas. Season 19 post-season games unfortunately will not finish until after New Year's Day. 😞 Finishing those games and then completing season 20 by Christmas 2024 should not be a problem if I continue with the current schedule. Some interesting facts are becoming apparent. I love statistics, especially since as much randomness as possible is plugged into my league. I don't pay attention to team standings as they finish out their seasons. I believe I've already shared how in a previous year, Tennessee, San Diego, and Philadelphia all ended up in the same division, upon which Philadelphia won that division. All 3 ended up in a higher ranked but still the same division. Philadelphia won that division too, way kewl. 🙂 Now then onto my current season. Recently, Pittsburgh beat Atlanta, leaving them with just 1 loss each but, Atlanta's offensive point total earned them the division win and a spot in the playoffs. Now another excellent statistic popped up. Jacksonville beat the New York Jets 7-6 but because there was a 3-way tie of 1 loss each and the score was so low, San Francisco actually won the division by 10 points! Does that make sense? My question to coaches [like favorite plays or games] is - Do you have any favorite statistics from your leagues? Hope you enjoyed this. Blessings to all, Curt 🙂

I too agree with Carl as I play any touch tackle. QB is down, sorry. 😞

Way Kewl...Thanks for the update! 🙂

Hello Sir Greg F., In LATE response to your post: Thanks! The defensive players were actually pushing the offensive lineman back into him. Not sure if there is any place to give relief. How do you handle that situation? The picture really helps so let me take this through its possibilities. I do not allow passes on troubled run plays as throwing a ball away is not an option. With the QB still on his feet, and the defense still pushing the line back for this one, let's say everyone is at mid field. The play is allowed to continue pushing as far back as the offense allows as the offense is allowed to stop progress on any play at any time. If the offense is lucky and the QB [or ball carrier] breaks free somehow to turn up field, the play continues then until the ball carrier scores, goes out of bounds or is tackled. In the picture, the player with the arms up in a running position [assuming he is the QB] is actually touching the player behind him with his arms wide open and that gives the QB [or ball carrier] the option for an automatic lateral to keep the play going. If they were not touching, the QB [or ball carrier] would have to risk pitching a lateral to anyone behind him if desired. If a missed pitchback hits any other player, that player is the ball carrier. If the ball just hits the board or stops within 10 yards of any player, then all available players may be turned to try and recover what is considered a fumble at the spot of contact or the ball's resting spot if that makes sense and again if the offense recovers it, they are allowed to stop play progress but not be turned up field unless they do so on their own. If the defense gets to it first without being tackled, they may continue running until tackled, out of bounds, or scores. Ok, now onto the picture being shown near the offenses end zone with the QB still on his feet. If it is a pass play and the QB has a valid receiver, he may throw it to him. If there is no available receiver, then the QB must get out of the end zone or successfully orchestrate a lateral to avoid a safety. Hope this all makes sense and wasn't too long but it is all a part of my weirdness as to how I would handle that situation. Great question. Blessings to all, Coach Curt.

If the QB is not down, I let him move as best as possible. If the QB is knocked over too, he is considered down and the next play resumes at his furthest forward gain if that makes sense.

For what it is worth and to add to the confusion if I'm not too late, like Terry 43, I bump hard at the line of scrimmage use 2 deep safeties but like Coach Shawn and to add a little bit of home field advantage, the home team also gets an extra pivot toward the intended visitor ball carrier to make things a little harder for them if that makes sense. Blessings to all, Curt. 🙂

Yet another awesome occurrence. Those who know me are familiar with the as-completely-random-as-possible way my league runs. Another favorite result came up today as the last round of season 19 regular games began. Keeping things as unbiased as possible, I do not look at team stats before their game. This aids in not preferring one team over another from the standpoint of "Well if this team wins, they take division and go to the playoffs" or "This team has no chance of getting to the playoffs so why bother trying to win." Does that make sense? Anyway, the teams are ranked from 1-33 based on W-L record, then Points Scored, then Points allowed if need be. Well, my Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Atlanta Falcons 24-22. It left both teams with just 1 loss. Pittsburgh did not take division however because Atlanta ended up having won divisionby an overall 7 points. So Atlanta will go to the playoffs and Pittsburgh will have to wait upon the conclusion of the regular season to see if they earned the best-of-the-second-place team wildcard position to face whoever secures the 11th place division winner. Does that make sense. Hope you enjoyed this. I did. Blessings to all, Curt 🙂

Sir nefgm.org, So sorry you lost your game. 😞 Similarly, one of my most vivid [but not happiest] of memories was when my oldest foster girl beat me for the first time. I don't even remember which teams were playing, just the shock that the inevitable actually happened. She was thrilled. I was not. Sir Daryl, you know that exact idea has crossed my mind before. A stopwatch times my games. NFL rules for clock stoppage guide my league and are easy enough to follow. Once in a blue moon, a ball carrier gets knocked over because they get hit so hard. This gave consideration to the circumstance that should it happen again, the clock would be stopped for what would be called an injury timeout, with that person being replaced for at least one play, yadda, yadda, yadda but I don't have replacement players, so it got passed off as just a thought. This might be valuable to those who do have many players for one team, however. Sir Terry43, You are welcome for the question. I love hearing all the comments. It is part of what makes the journey so enjoyable. To keep moving forward in the journey is definitely the plan. Blessings to all, Curt 🙂

Ladies and Gentle Dudes, Hope all is well with you. Thinking about our wonderful hobby while playing yet another game. Still trying to catch up season 19 from delays caused by COVID! The regular season games should complete by Christmas, but Season 19 Post-season games will most likely have wait until after New Year's Day. 😞 Finishing those games and then completing season 20 by Christmas 2024 should not be a problem if I continue with my aggressive minimum 1 to 2 quarters per day schedule to put myself back on track. Many exciting games have come and gone but today's game with Tampa Bay hosting Indianapolis was incredibly intense, one I'll remember for a very long time. It was quite the fight. Tampa scored first to have a 7-0 lead. Indianapolis quickly made it 8-7. Tampa bounces back to regain the lead 13-8 and after Indianapolis threw an interception, they allowed Tampa to drive some more, upping their lead further to 20-8. Indianapolis re-volleys to make it 20-16. This time Tampa draws a turnover card and it was Indianapolis, taking advantage of the opportunity to drive themselves to another touchdown making it 23-20. You may have guessed it, Tampa not being done, tied it up at 23-23 and so it ended up going into overtime. Neither team was able to score anything else and so while overtime games are fairly rare, unresolved overtime games are even more rare. 🙂 I think this will certainly go down in the record books as one of my favorite games. With my Ultimate sized board, running 80+ yards for touchdowns are rare too. I love those infrequent "surprises" that do come along once in a while. All that to ask coaches to tell us about some of their favorite EF play or game memories. 🙂 Blessings to all, Curt

I agree with Daryl...totally awesome! 🙂

Yes, this forum is a godsend...Ladies and Gentledudes, Hope all is well with you. I just noticed these comments and for what it is worth, it seems there are differences of opinion about the current state of our most amazing hobby. I support nefgm.orgs' quote of "However, I have to disagree with your assessment that the hobby is at a low point. I will respond in another post, later. When I got a couple of hours, LOL." I always love hearing from him and if he ever has that couple of hours, I want to hear that other post. 🙂 As to where something is at any point, it would seem necessary to review where it has come from and where it is possibly going. The main issues seem to favor ordering EF items and the details surrounding those processes. For those who are quite actively engaging the processes and do so often then, perhaps there may be a perception that can be supported to suggest a "low point" but I have to apologize to all those who feel that way because I've reached my "summit" with EF. Let me clarify. For example, I did everything music: read, write, teach, play, record, both professionally and privately. There came a day that it seemingly reached its end, having done everything that could be done with it. The thought of quitting was hard until arthritis made it so painfully hard to continue, the choice became easy. Now, there is no intention to quit Electric Football but I've taken it as far as needed. I have 33 teams all painted with home and away jerseys. I use all of them. My brother tried to convince me to acquire all the teams in their past, present, and whacky Thursday night uniforms but then which color combo would be used for whatever game is being played? Staying with 33 teams works for me. The Ultimate sized board fits perfectly in its space. There is no need for any other board. The red and white plastic figures that came with Ultimate board serve as extras to be painted for figures that get lost or somehow need to be replaced. I have no interest in the college world. So, the only foreseeable ordering is to replace Triple Threat Quarterbacks, Scoreboards and other accessories as needed. That would seem like a low point to some, I guess. I hope no one's feathers have been ruffled or had their time wasted. Just my whacky thoughts. May Electric Football live forever! 🙂 Blessings to all, Curt

Ladies and Gentledudes, Hope you all are doing well. It has been a long time but my Arizona Cardinals and my San Diego Chargers, in a grueling match that traded leads a couple of times, finally went into a 26-26 overtime. I never liked the way the NFL conducts its overtime rules, so I made my own. A coin toss of heads awards the ball to the home team and tails to the visitors. There are no exceptions to that. A stopwatch times my games. Each team gets one drive. If still tied no matter the score [or no score], the overtime "quarter" continues with a 2-minute warning and each team having 3 timeouts until the quarter expires. Post-season games continue with overtime as needed until there is a determined winner. For this game, San Diego received first. On their 3rd play, they threw an interception, thus ending their "first drive" and so Arizona commenced with their first drive. They only needed a field goal to win but ended up scoring a touchdown for a 32-26 victory. Now let's say for argument's sake, San Diego would have been able to at least score a field goal. Arizona would then have needed a touchdown to win. If they would have only been able score a field goal themselves, then the game would have continued until time ran out for a tie or whoever would have been able to put up some type of other score first themselves would have won. Does that make sense? So, I'm curious. How do you play overtime with your leagues? If this topic has been visited before, please forgive my failing memory and apologies for wasting anyone's time. Blessings to all, 🙂 Curt

Fabulous idea. I know I would watch it. The title of "Tweaked" works for me. Blessings, Curt

Agreed. Congratulations and best wishes to Bryan and Tudor! 🙂

Way Kewl Terry43. Love your post. You are a brave, brave, man. I guess because when my nephew comes over and because he totally follows the rules we came up with together to reduce bias as much as possible etc., I have no problem with sharing it with him. But let my wife invade my favorite hobby? Wow, that may be tough. 🙂

I try to evaluate and think about how I play EF often. A stopwatch times my games and an estimated 6 seconds per play comes fairly close to my games. In that I find if a team is ahead enough by a significant amount [or close enough to the end of a half], then, I allow the offense to take a knee to run out the clock. More specifically let's say a team is ahead by 6 points on 2nd down with 12 seconds left to go in the game. I have seen in real life where a last second defensive touchdown killed a team's [almost] certain victory. I use cards for offensive plays so I'll draw a play card, run 6 seconds off my clock and do it again for their 3rd down play. As long as the defensive touchdown card is not drawn, then the game is over and the victory of course ends up going to the team who was winning in the first place. Does that make sense? So, my question to coaches, if you do, when do you allow a team to take a knee? Blessings, Curt