Interview in GR Press

[clmdesigns]

We were interviewed in the Grand Rapids Press that just went to print today.
Congrats to Al, nice little article. I think I was along just for eye candy? LOL
BTW-That team total for me should have been +80.
Enjoy

http://www.mlive.com/sports/grpress/...l=6&thispage=1

[WEIRDWOLF]

Nice article guys. Way to represent.

Football game still electric for GR fans
Thursday, January 31, 2008
By Michael Zuidema
The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS -- For Al Dunham, the biggest football event of
the year already happened.
It didn't involve Tom Brady or Eli Manning, and it wasn't held in Arizona. It didn't even include the words "super" or "bowl."
"I'm not a Patriots fan, I'm not a Giants fan," Dunham said, laughing, "so the Super Bowl doesn't mean much to me this year."
Instead, the Grand Rapids resident attended the 14th annual Electric Football World Championships & Convention in Detroit, where hundreds of collectors, hobbyists and nostalgiacs gathered to play games and trade stories.
Dunham, 51, called it one of the best weekends of his life.
"I went out in the hotel at 3 a.m. to look around, and there were still people running up and down the hall, in and out of each other's rooms. Boards were buzzing everywhere," he said. "It sounded like a beehive convention."
Those who were not weaned on Madden video games likely have a vague memory of electric football, which debuted in the 1940s with its vibrating metal field and tiny plastic players that moved around in seemingly random circles.
"Like 90 percent of the guys, you played when you were a kid for two or three years, and then you got frustrated and gave up on it," Dunham said. "And then you forgot about it."
That's what happened to Dunham. He received his first electric football game for Christmas when he was 10 but grew disinterested.
It was not until a friend re-introduced him to the game shortly after high school, though, that Dunham began to see potential.
"I thought, 'Man, these guys actually go where you want them to go. What's going on here?' " Dunham said. "They're not going around in circles, they're not jumping up and down and falling over, they're actually running plays."
Dunham soon learned nuances to the game, such as turning dials on the players' bases to move them left or right, attaching BBs for added stability, and even boiling pieces in oil to mold and strengthen players.
But what really sold him was the ability to recreate any team -- and he means any -- you can think of.
Dunham has spent countless hours painting and detailing dozens of college and pro teams, such as his favorite, the 1969 Los Angeles Rams.
Imaginary teams, too
He also has several "imaginary teams," from the clown-inspired "Battlin' Bozos" to the Bigfoot-themed "Canadian Sasquatch."
Dunham's "London Union Jacks" team won a design contest recently and was reproduced by Miggle Toys, which hosted last weekend's convention.
"That's what's so nice about this hobby: You want the Steel Curtain team from the '70s? You can have them. You want the Doomsday Defense? You can have them," Dunham said. "Whatever you want, you can have."
He also is the assistant editor of The Tweak, an electric football magazine that started in June and publishes four times a year.
Dunham's enthusiasm has passed over to Chris Markham, 40, of Grand Rapids.
Markham, who collects rare teams such as those from the old USFL, rediscovered electric football about a year ago when bidding for pieces on eBay started to spike.
While the basic game runs for about $70, rare teams can be sold for more than $400. Markham, who has about 50 teams and three boards, said the most he has paid for one team is $60.
"It's as costly as you want it to be," Markham said. "What's costly for me is trying to get all the teams back that I ended up selling or never had as a kid. I know I'm buying stuff that I'm probably paying too much money for."
Markham also started to paint players and teams on the side. Pieces now are so detailed that you can specify everything from tattoos to the brand of shoes players wear.
Like Dunham, it's that kind of artistic creativity that appealed to Markham.
"It's fun to make those figures, put different face masks on them, whatever," Markham said. "All of a sudden, you've got this 3-D thing that's not on your TV screen anymore. It gives it a bit of realism."
Dunham and Markham would like to form a league in West Michigan to help promote the hobby.
"I think we'd all be sad to see this whole thing just die out with us," Dunham said. "I mean, we're getting older, and if there's no young people getting involved, the whole game could disappear."

Send e-mail to the author: mzuidema@grpress.com

[RavennaAl]

Chris, I'm glad that you were able to come over. I wish they would have done more with you. I'm just happy that they didn't beat us down like some papers have done. They didn't mention the MFCA at all but they did include the web site in the paper version. Also, thay had a pic of Pacman, of the Bozo's, on the very front page of the paper! Not to mention yours truely and both teams on the front page of the sports section! Who's National now? :rolleyes:

[clmdesigns]

Ya, I just got a phone call telling me that my finger was in one of the shots.
Maybe I can get a hand model job out of it.