The Wall Street Journal had an intriguing article yesterday by Mark Yost on electric football. Like many of us, I had one of these as a kid. Who could resist turning on the electric playing field and watching 22 figures move around in random directions as the sheet metal vibrated? And best of all was getting to “kick” that little cotton football across the room.
Alas, my game was lost in the mists of time and parental housecleaning. I was interested to learn, though, that fans of electric football still exist. There are leagues with playoffs, and an official electric football Super Bowl. The game, originating in the 1940s, is still being made by Miggle Toys.
Fanboys spend time customizing the player figurines, much as model railroad or toy soldier aficionados. They also seek a competitive edge, altering the bases of linemen so they don’t move as much (better blocking), and of wide receivers so they “run” faster.
Such simple pursuits really gin up the nostalgia in people. I suspect Miggle Toys will see a nice boost in sales from this article, considering that WSJ is one of the nation’s top selling newspapers.
References:
Yost, M. (2008, January 30). A Super Bowl for kids who never grew up. The Wall Street Journal. p. D10.
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