Envisioning A Convention

I love Chicago in the summer, but my vote would be Vegas EVERY year!

[childslovegame]

Reg,

To get on ESPN, we need your stadiums, the muti-stop system, and figures on a swival. That combination would blow them out of the water.

Now for a National Convention! The difficulty we have in our hobby unlike other hobbies is perference. Other hobbies don't have the fexibility in their rule set like we have in EF. That's why unity for us is very hard. Although it is the game of football, how it's played out on a table top board allows alot of room for imagination. To be under one roof with all styles being played is a good idea, but how much participation would we really get? We'll get the faithful few, those who are already on the EF Tournament Circuit. But I think more serious questions have to be asked.

Is this what peolpe really, really want, or is this someone's or some organization's vision?

You want to have a National Tournment without crowning a National Champion? Hummmmmm!

Who are we trying to reach, those already on the tourney circuit, or those who play in leagues around the country who don't come to any tournaments? Why?

Has a survey been taken to gage the number of participants who attended tournaments during the past year? 2 years?

There are people who don't come to certain tournaments. We need to find out why? If you love this this hobby and there's a tournament in your state, and you didn't show up, we need to find out why? I understand family and scheduling conflicts, but there are too many people who don't participate. Is it our individual perference in rules, is it race, or is it the preceived character of those who we may be in attendance?

Reg, you were debating if you should host the TSO this year because you didnot get the numbers you were expecting last year. Do you think ( Every Commissioner of a League need to ask themselves this quetion ) guys in your league would come to a National Convention to play in your style? If your answer is YES, then let's do it! But how do you know that for sure? I believe this is the bedrock of success for a National Convention. The key to making this happen rest not with those on the MFCA Startup Committee, or those who've already hosted a tournament, but Commissioners of EF Leagues around the country. Why? They carry to most influence among their people.

I suggest taking a survey from League Commisioners asking them how many people in their league they think would come to a National Convention. From this number you can get an idea how many people will participate.

If you want a uniform rule set, take a survey from Commissioners and then everyone in this hobby on Stoppages - Single or Multi, Tackles - AT or FOB Weight - 3.2 or 4.0 or unlimited, Bases - Boiled or Non-Boiled, Figures - Custom or Standard, Board Size - 620, 308, Scale. From this survey, then you can create rules that will attract more participants because they have a say in how they want to play, not being dictated by somebody eles! There has to be some give and take. Then, and only then can you crown a True "National Champion!"

Smitty

[Reginald Rutledge]

but I beg to differ on some things. For instance, multi-stop. I think there is something wrong when you are in front of a camera and it takes 2-3 minutes to run a play. Football is a game of speed, not giving the opposition time to react for long periods of time. That alone makes me lose interest!

Time is very valuable to me. When I play a game and only get in 40 plays in 3 hours of competition, it's just not something that interest me. There's too many things that are left to be done.

I think the pagentry is VERY important when you are trying to capture the imagination and attention of many. For ESPN or whatever station you are talking about, time is money and dead time equates to lost revenue (that is a marketing and broadcast fact!). The numbers we got at last year's Shootout was about 40 coaches total. That's above average at toruenaments but many said it was because of the date. However, I could have the tournament on any date and you will still have that.

I agree there must be compromise but there must also be logical thinking in terms of marketing the game. That's why I've said at least get it under 1 roof. Allow all the different styles. I think if you are confident in your ability to market your style of play, people will play. Some will be intimidated if they know they can not have crutches they usually have but for the most part, competitors will compete.

I just know that when you are constantly stopping the board, it's like a radio sports station having dead air for 20 seconds, it's suicide. That's just one of those things I will never be convinced of. And again, that's why we should have various champions in different styles of play.

I have had the chance to play multi-stop style in the past and it just does not translate well into watching on ESPN. That's just my opinion! But I would not want to stop a tourney opposite the Shootout from doing that. If that style has a great following, by all means it should be done.

But when I can opt to get in 100 plays in 3 hours versus 40 plays, I will take the 100 plays every time. But just because I want the 100 plays in 3 hours does not mean that it should be the only style shown or played at a convention. I say play the 4 or 5 titles and it allows for a 3 day weekend instead of a 6 day weekend.

That's just my thinking. We are expecting upt to 50-60 coaches this year who may not be well-versed in this style of play (TSO) but want to come and experience what I passionately talk about and willing show to the public. Until you really play in this style of play, you really have no clue what it is about. But again, I don't want to not stop you from being a multi-stop champion either. You should not only have that choice but those options. That's why our game is so good, because of its diversity.

Reginald