In Miggle Toy’s newsletter “Plugged In!”, they often would publish letters that they had received from electric football game players and hobbyist.
I always find it interesting to go back and read some of these letters. Below is one such letter. It is from an electric football player and hobbyists who is still active and playing electric football today, over 20 years later.
Dear Mr. Landman,
About two years ago, my wife got me an Electric Football Game for Christmas. Over the next two weeks, I enjoyed playing the game with visiting friends and tinkering with it myself. Unfortunately, the game went into the box and under the bed – “interference called on account of life, family and work.
A week ago, I had the rare day to kick back and relax. Due to preseason football and college football on TV, I pulled out the game from under the bed and had a blast! Everything was there except the rules and the order form. They must have been thrown out with the rest of the Christmas trash two years earlier, because I gave the house the FBI treatment to no avail. On the box was the address for Miggle Toys, so through Information, I got the number and called. With the help of a pleasant lady at Miggle, I was told I could expect an order form in the mail. Imagine that! Real help from a real human being! the second surprise came when I received not just an order form, but also a copy of Plugged In!
Well, I got excited. Real excited! The newsletter featured real guys like me who grew up with Electric Football (I still own the Super Bowl III game and no, it’s not for sale). There was product information and tips on how to play (Thank you, Steve Graham. I can now pass!)
I am using the game to teach my eight-year-old Pokeman fanatic the finer points of Electric Football; things like why safeties don’t play 80 yards deep and why we stop the buzz when the player turns around in the opposite direction. The nostalgia is thick. I mean, who of us didn’t use to line the teams up to play a weird game of 20th century jousting?
Why did it take me two years to catch up with this great hobby? I don’t know, except I believe all things happen in due time. There’s a form of expression visible in the teams one chooses to play, as well the offensive and defensive schemes used. It’s also a way to pass along something to my son that is as fun and valid as any video or computer game available.
Thanks to Miggle and their efforts in keeping this hobby alive and well.
Sincerely,
Daryl Collins, Tuscaloosa, AL
-Watts Current – Plugged In!, Fall 1999
To read more of these “Letters to Miggle Toys” visit the NEFGM Library’s “Plugged In!” archives.
The National Electric Football Game Museum 