Throwback Electric Football Tournament

Monticello, FL – September 30,2023

The first annual “Throwback Electric Football Tournament” was held in Monticello, Jefferson County, Florida on Saturday, September 30, 2023. The event was hosted by Bart and Jennifer Moore.

I first met Bart and Jennifer when they made the trip to Columbia, TN and the Pryor Art Gallery to visit the “Art of the Buzz” Electric Football Exhibit in February of 2023.

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this historic event, but I did ask Bart to submit an article for this blog post to share with the ELECTRIC FOOTBALL Community. 

 

Commissioner’s report on the First Annual Throwback Electric Football Tournament held Saturday, September 30, 2023, in Monticello, Jefferson County, Florida. – Bart Moore, Commissioner

The great Southern storyteller and Mississippi State Letterman Jerry Clower once said, “The first football game I ever saw, I played in it.” Well, the first electric football tournament I ever saw, I hosted and served as the Commissioner. We had 11 coaches for 10 teams, and only one had prior EF tournament experience.

Disclaimer: This was a “rookie tournament” with ten (10) teams and I supplied all but one of the teams and all but one of the game boards. As the deadline to play got closer, we passed the “good idea” cut-off point. We made a lot of mistakes. Learning occurred. One big goal for the Second Annual Throwback Tournament is to “improve the product”. The Commissioner is reviewing the feedback from the coaches and can’t wait to host again.

Shortly before 10:30 p.m., roughly 14 hours after the opening kickoff of the First Annual Throwback Electric Football Tournament, the veteran New Orleans Saints coach clung to a 7-0 lead over the charging Atlanta Falcons and their improving rookie coach. A small 3D printed Vince Lombardi Trophy glued to a silver painted Gatorade cap for stability hung in the balance.

The Rookie tournament began at 8:30 a.m. with coffee and donuts. Upon arrival, each coach drew a folded paper with a number from the Commissioner’s “Go Buck Naked” Duluth Trading Company ballcap. Each coach received a 3D printed football-shaped key chain embossed with a commemorative sticker as their “coaching credentials”. The Commissioner’s wife, and co-host, Jennifer, crafted the key chains, printed goal posts, picked up the donuts and a sandwich tray from the local Publix grocery store. She bought all the necessary snacks and beverages. For dessert, since each coach hoped to be paired against a “cupcake” in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament, she selected green frosted cupcakes. For her hard work and dedication, the Commissioner appointed her as League Chief Financial Officer. As CFO, she set the limits on how much the Commissioner could spend on this endeavor. Once the games began, Jennifer took three of the other coach’s wives to get their nails done.

As the coaches drew their numbers, I wrote the data into a poster-sized foam board and noted the home and visitors and assigned a stadium (game board). We started with a Tudor Ultimate Board (Miami) which, being “Throwback”, we called the Orange Bowl. We had a Miggle Board which we called “Miggle Stadium”. We also had a beat-up board purchase from an Estate called the “Estate Bowl”. The newest board, and Jacksonville Jaguars Tudor 32×16 served as the “Gator Bowl”. The Saints coach brought an extra board that initially substituted for some of the Estate Bowl games. By design, after the first round, the winning team stayed on the Ultimate Board, and the losers fought through the losers’ bracket on the smaller boards. Before games and between rounds, coaches used a small Pavilion board as a practice field.

Before play began, the Commissioner set up a “controlled scrimmage” that served as a rules clinic. Prior to the tournament, each coach received the rules, a rules “Cliff Notes”, and some received video links to passing stick demonstrations on YouTube. Each Coach received a “confidential scouting report” on his team, and the entire League received “public” scouting reports for every team. The confidential reports indicated fastest players, recommended offensive linemen positioning, and in some instances, recommended plays.

We held two games – four teams – in the first round. It gave an advantage to the four teams to have real game experience, but it also gave an advantage to the other coaches to see how the game is played.

To speed up the games, each game consisted of eight (8) plays per quarter. I originally wanted to have 10 plays per quarter with tight timing rules between downs. That was a bad idea for rookies. Kicking plays counted toward the total. We made a spinner for field goals. The specific rules used are beyond the scope of this blog.

Coaches could use a Triple Option QB for passing, but most elected to use passing sticks. Next year we will encourage passing, and hopefully kicking.
The tournament format required 18 games. The most games we could play at once was four, due to the bracket format.

We are not in the part of Florida that makes up Georgia’s armpit, but if you push past the sweaty pit hairs, you can see and smell Georgia’s underarm from our North Florida residence. Thus, picking who got to be the Jaguars was not easy. “Hacksaw”, a 14-year-old Eagle Scout Coach took Jacksonville. In his first game, the Jacksonville offense, led by QB Treavor Lawrence and Running back E-T-N could not progress against the Washington Redskin defense. Hacksaw elected to move # 85, Tim Tebow, from Tight End to Quarterback. Timmy responded with a long bootleg scramble that set up a touchdown. For a brief moment, I knew why I wanted to host this adventure. Although Jacksonville lost 7-6, the excitement of a lad thinking he was coming to a “Madden” tournament but adapting to a “real” game gave us joy. Although he was the first coach eliminated, Hacksaw graciously accepted the “Mr. Irrelevant” good sport award. The other teenaged coach made the wild card round and earned Rookie of the Year (ROY) honors and top offense honors.

In this League, we allowed coaches to accept an automatic extra point or elect to go for two. Most coaches took the automatic point, especially as the day went on and the value of points became apparent.

In the first game for Atlanta, verses San Francisco, #24 for Atlanta sparked the Falcons by catching two Steve Bartowski passes for touchdowns, totaling 124 yards. Strangely, #24 went silent for the rest of the day. It reminded me of my high school teammate who scored one touchdown in each of our first three games one season, and never saw paydirt the rest of the year.

In another early game, Terry Bradshaw of the Steelers (coached by a teenager) hit Franco Harris for a game winning touchdown via passing sticks and brought back memories of the Immaculate Reception.

As the day progressed, Jacksonville, San Francisco, Houston (Oilers), New England, Tampa Bay, and Washington fell by the wayside. Tampa Bay did go out on an Overtime, Father vs. Son contest; so it was not without a fight.

But as the six fell, the other four gained momentum. In an all-Pennsylvania Wild Card Round, Pittsburgh, with Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Rocky Bleier, and Franco Harris, and the Steel Curtain defense, were too much for the Invincible Philadelphia Eagles. Pittsburgh won 17-7 with a late score. In the Winner’s Bracket, New Orleans defeated Atlanta 17-7 and moved to 4-0.

Atlanta, a late entry into the Loser’s Bracket, moved into a rematch with the Steelers. In Game 12, the Falcons defeated Pittsburgh 28-27, because the Steelers went for 2 and the win after a last-minute touchdown. Atlanta’s Grits Blitz defense stuffed the two-point attempt. In the rematch, Atlanta survived 14-7. The Falcons lost 17-14 to the Saints in Game 15, and hoped to get revenge in the Super Bowl.

It was not to be. What was expected to be a shoot-out turned into a defensive battle. Late in the game, Saints QB Archie Manning rolled right looking to hit running back George Rogers on a swing pass. An Atlanta defender raced toward the running back. Just before the buzzer stopped, the Saints runner smashed into the Atlanta defender, knocking the Falcon to the ground. Manning quickly hit the runner with a Triple Threat QB pass as the hapless defender lay on his back. The receiver turned, and the defender jumped to his feet, but the Saints great raced to the five-yard line before going out of bounds. The Falcons defense re-grouped and stood tall in the Red Zone, but Manning found Wes Chandler for a short TD pass putting the Saints up 7-0, with time running out.
In the post-game press conference, the Saints coach acknowledged that Atlanta improved from the earlier game, making the contest a true chess match. Atlanta’s defense covered each move correctly, until the long play described earlier. The press hounded the Atlanta coach for not substituting June Jones at Quarterback in Game 18, to replace the ineffective Bartowski. The Atlanta coach explained that his philosophy was to not change for the sake of change, and the unproved Jones did not tempt him as an option. He rode #10 to the Super Bowl, and he was not going to pull him in the Super Bowl.

Overall, in 18 games, teams scored a total of 344 points.

Explosive plays included Game 2, 83 yard Touchdown run by Washinton #24.
Game 5: Saints 11 yard TD pass (not with sticks) and 28 yard pass for TD – also not with sticks.

Game 13 – 50 yard TD pass with sticks. Tampa Bay and 25 yard TD pass from Pittsburgh’s Bradshaw to Harris.

There were too many other highlights to cover, but eventually, Atlanta faced the Saints with a chance to tie the game. The Saints defense held, and Atlanta turned the ball over on downs.

In the week and a half since the tournament, two coaches already have their own games. Next year, we expect each coach to have their own team.

All 18 games were very close, with the biggest margin of victory being 17. Two games went into overtime. Several were decided by one point (7-6, 28-27) and several were decided by one score.

Besides the games, the coaches overwhelmingly enjoyed the fellowship. We had at least five coaches with current or past military service. Besides “Hacksaw”, four other coaches earned Eagle Scout, some many years ago. It’s often said that a small group with bricks and bats get TV news coverage, but regular people participating in positive events rarely get noticed. Thanks to Chris for asking me to give a report about good things. Buzz on!

“Game Day!!” and the calm before the storm. 

Coaches getting ready for the action to begin!! 

Tournament action!!

The Super Bowl!! Saints vs. Falcons

 Fun , Food and Fellowship!!

“NO Dave” Champion Dave Haydel’s post tournament report. 

“As a follow-up, the Throwback Electric Football Tournament took place this past weekend in Monticello, Florida, just outside of Tallahassee. The Moores were excellent hosts and set up a one-of-a-kind double elimination tournament where you played full 32-play games. The tournament featured ten teams with coaches ranging in age from late teens to early sixties.

These coaches got smart to the game quickly, and there were several contests that went into overtime. The event was a brilliant success and can’t wait for the next one. 

Big takeaway – Passing. Coaches catch on quick to this game, and the only X-factor is the ability to pass. If my passing would not have been top-notch, I would not have won. People would stop what they were doing to watch me flick that little ball off the TTQB and hit passes all over the field.

NO Dave’s Saints won the day with two sets of Haiti Repro’s, some well-tweaked bases, and precision TTQB passing. My biggest charge out of the event wasn’t the win, but to hear all the coaches talk about the fun they had, how they all did better than they thought they would, and that people stayed until after the Super Bowl to cheer and congratulate all the coaches in the event. I even had a few coaches getting really good at TTQB passing. Thanks again to Bart and Jennifer Moore, and all fellow coaches, for a great event!”