ok, let's talk unity ...

[mantaraydre]

COACHES,

Im glad to see the level this one particular post has reached. More coaches seem to want to be a part of something big in the land of electric football.
We need this unity to enhance this hobby even further. I started a thread in regards to a committee and it did not go very far for various reasons. If all stay positive and reframe from any negativity, we all can go as far as we like.

If i am not chosen to be one of the muckiddy muck's on the committe board, i would like to attend some of the sit downs at the meetings to take place in the future. One thing i would like to see is some sort of travel advisory section in the committee, someone who can look into getting coaches group travel deals whether it's by bus, amtrak, or plane. (ie; get all coaches who are coming from a paticular region and find the best deals to travel to future tourney's). Let's say 10 coaches from the dfw wanted to play at the winterfest or sea wall brawl, and lets say 10 coaches combined from the virginia, dc and baltimore areas's wanted to go to the texas shootout, the travel section in the commiittee can get to work collecting names and coming up with the best travel plan at discount prices. THAT'S JUST ONE IDEA FOR ONE SECTION IN THE COMMITTEE!

THESE LITTLE PLASTIC MEN ARE LIKE OUR EXTENDED FAMILY


WELL LETS GET A FAMILY REUNION GOING !!!!!!!!!!!!!



COUSIN (BROADWAY-DRE)


THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING TOGETHER IN THE POST

Well said!

Originally Posted by Biglock

I have read all the posts and all the ideas are sound and well thought, a National EF Commitee or Council or whatever is a great idea and it will take the support of all coaches players and manufacturers to pull it off, But in my humble opinion The Manufacturers place in this should be marginal, alot of the crap that goes on in this hobby 9 time out of 10 is because of manufacturers (Excluding my Dog Reg and some others that do there own thing). For this thing to grow and take form it must happen by the Hobbyist controlling the wheel not the companies that supply us, Our thoughts, wants and ideas must take center stage not there wants. To me from what ive seen alot of the BS comes from well you suuport him or them so I can't roll with you, or you play this way so I can't be down with you, for this thing to fly we must first put aside are own petty differences and accept each other for who we are not what we play with or how we play, First this commitee must be formed of people that understand the Hobby inside and out, but the people on it should be from every aspect of the hobby so all areas could be addressed, second all groups in the hobby leagues, solitaire or group, individauls or collectively must be heard, and acknowlegded, the things I see now in this Hobby well the Hot Spots of Electric Football make the rules so to speak for who? not for Lock or the SFEFLOC. All areas must be heard weather there are 2 coaches there or 200. Also trying to cram an issue down my throat will get it spit back up on you. I am always willing to listen but force feeding me will get you a dial tone real quick, so the approach should be subtle not a sledge hammer to the dome. Now I hope this can become a reality , when I put the idea up on on The Miggle Board of an open style event some said Lock it can't be done, you'll never be able to please the whole Hobby, which was never my intent, my intent was those that wanted to come together to see that no matter what we played with or how we played we werent really that much different. And we could always learn from each other. Im down with a Unity movement if that what it really would be. But really im watching this one closely because all that glitters is not gold.

[MplsTom]

It's a great topic. I guess in my old age, I've become more cynical. I look at our political system today and it has gotten away from a "give and take" and become a "we win you lose" on both sides.

I look at the hobby and here's how I see it:
Miggle resurrected the hobby and for that we owe them plenty. They serve a niche and it's a two person show. There's a lot of risk/reward in really taking it to the next level, and at this stage in their career that's not their cup of tea. It's their product and the decisions they make work well for them and many a hobbyist.

It takes the 3M's to accomplish the task: Monomaniac on a Mission with Money. They can begin to set some of the rules because people will want to play in their events.

Until then we'll have pockets. A coach's association would likely go the way of Rules 2K, Rankings, NHFL, etc. All good efforts that have advanced the hobby some but none have brought about the full blown unity that I think this thread is talking about.

Unity through diversity??? As association without a mandate or a carrot is just a gathering. Rules and guidelines can be drawn up, but for what purpose? People will still play how they want to play, using the figures they like using and there probably isn't anything wrong with that.

As for the other manufacturers, I'm a bit torn. On the one hand I have to respect Miggle's licensing. If I paid for the license and there was unlicensed business happening I'd have to weigh the "promote them for the growth of the hobby" versus the "I'm doing this legally and paying big $" angel/devil on the shoulder.

This hobby has some WONDERFULLY CREATIVE people and realistically isn't big enough to sustain multiple manufacturers of core products (niche accessories, yes).

Reg, I don't know all the history. I know I respect the heck out of your ability and enjoyed our visit in Dallas immensely. Straight up, when you talk about wounds being deep, I'm sure they are. You poured your heart and soul into this as did George, Beal, ITZ, Beenutt, Tornado Alley, etc. I think you will admit that you threw a big "mozza ball" (Seinfeld reference) into the pot when your figures came out larger and heavier than what Miggle and Buzzball had done. It put guys in a tough spot. The hobby wasn't ready or big enough to "up the weight" and the products didn't co-exist easily (not impossible, just saying "easily"). Standards debates, unfortunately became personal in some cases (and they should never), and there's nothing like a few of those to douse the flame of the creative geniuses in this hobby.

I can honestly say, like many in this hobby, I've had my "go around" in putting my heart and soul on the line. For me it was creating some national tournaments, doing things a bit differently, throwing a rankings system out there. This hobby travels "ok"...the events were moderately attended. My energy level is low now and will likely get refueled sometime down the road.

I don't see a scenario where this comes from the "bottom up". The real growth, in my eyes, has to start with money, Miggle, marketing, risk, and hopefully reward.

If it stays like it is now, then none of us will also be worse for the wear. It is still a wonderful brotherhood. A diverse family with many great memories to share and create yet.

[Coach_J]

This is great post Beenutt and I must apologize for not responding sooner. Yet as the saying it's better late than never.

To begin with thanks Don for the kind words. Second I have not read all of the responses so if some of what I say has always been said then please forgive me. Yes it is not up to the manufacturers to set the tone for bringing about unity in the hobby. There job is simply to manufacturer the items for us. Now as was said earlier it is up to the coaches to bring about unity in the hobby. How can this be accomplished. To me unity in our hobby can be accomplished simply by one word. What is that word ? Drum roll please. The word is simply "ACCEPTANCE". We all know that there is great deal of variety in our hobby and it is up to us to "ACCEPT" the variety that our hobby presents. After we develop the spirit of "ACCEPTANCE" then the only thing left for us to do is "PROMOTE THE HOBBY". That's my .02 cents for what it's worth.

Have a great day coaches and when it comes to unity I hope we will all develop a spirit of "ACCEPTANCE".

Coach_J

[WEIRDWOLF]

To Tom, I respect what you have written and many if not all points are valid. I know how much you have put into the hobby and how hard you have tried to make things grow.The thing that people seem to be missing in the reading of this thread is that a Coaches Association is not being started to create one set of rules, one type of figure or to get everyone to like each other. You mentioned that we are a small group and that is precisely why we need a coaches association. Educate and Promote. Educate the newcomer and promote the hobby. The wheels are already turning and I am sure that we will get this accomplished. EF, as I have already stated earlier, is miniature football players on bases that are propelled across a field through vibration from an electric motor. This being said, everything from 3.2 to 4.0 to MPFL to NHFL to Buzzball to Miggle to FF.com are all EF related by the defintion I just gave.

A coaches association through its dues collected will create the money we need to fund an event/show/convention in conjunction with a pre-established event such as a sports card show. Once this is set, all manufacturers will be invited. All leagues will be invited each with their own displays and tables and we will promote this hobby to people who had forgotten it or never heard about it. An annual convention geared toward EDUCATION and PROMOTION (no tourneys at least not till the crowd leaves) spurred on by a coaches association that is there to teach and hopefully even learn from each other.

There will be many who poo poo this idea and say it can't happen but I am saying it WILL happen. There are many roadblocks and the committee that is growing will need to deal with them. Beenutt and I for better or worse are taking the reins temporarily to get the committee organized. I can safely say that we already have at least 1 member from each of the main rules systems and from very diverse parts of the country.

Don't get caught up in th old idea that we all have to be 1 big happy family to make this work or that we have to play this game only 1 way. That won't happen, we are to diverse but why can't there be many ways to play just as model railroading has N scale all the way up to O scale. No one will argue that all the scales of model railroads are not model railroads and if you go to a model railroad convention, you will see 100's of manufacturers and numbers of different sizes. They don't all get along but some how they keep building more model railroads and having conventions that bring in 1000's of people and that is not an exageration.

[mantaraydre]

PLEASE PLACE ME ON BOAED TO HELP OUT WITH THINGS !!!!!!!!!!

This committee will happen, it's a great idea to hold an event where all styles are under one roof playing ef. That will be one heck of a convention !
this type of event needs to be held on a long holiday weekend so coaches can have that extra day due to vacation time from work. Let the wheels of justice begin turning !


broadway-d

THEIR IS DO AND DONOT, THEIR IS NO TRY

"YODA"

[Reginald Rutledge]

I respect what you say and it is duly noted. That "mozza ball" of higher weight really had nothing to do with me wanting to alter standards in electric football. There is so much you have no idea happened with regards to the heavier design but you may perceive it as something aimed at the game of electric football and standards.

You know, the great thing is, that really does not matter. What does matter is that you and I may get the chance to hang out together. You like your EFL trinkets and I like mine but we will be able to see each other and talk about many things besides EFL.

Sometimes it takes things that you may perceive as drastic to bring about change and dialogue and if differences in diversities is the thing that does it, I am all for it.

I am getting very old very fast. My interest in national EFL has decreased tremendously. However, I owe my efforts as you do and all others who love the game that we do to trying to put our best foot forward in bringing this thing to fruition.

Thanks for your take on what you felt happened. I always appreciate your honesty and admire your dedication to the game.

Reginald

[William Travers]

Brian and Lynn I commend you both for taking on this well over do project. This will not be easy. I also have been around when I heard echos of a national organization. But know one was willing to take a lead as you have. I too want to see this happen and I am optimistic that it will. My feeling is that we as EF Coaches need something that we can call our own. An organization that can be as diversed and well structered. Just think of the possibilities. Conventions, Community Service,Charity Benefits, Professional team representation, Media and Perks. Need I go on? You will never hear the question "are you comming out west with the convention"?. The question will be "were are we staying in LA this year"?. This will happen. Just be ready to pay your yearly Dues. Vendors you would benefit from this as well. This hobby community will grow in size. I am Pumped up!

"Keep the Faith"

Thanks for the Props Don.


Peace Will Travers

[Coach K-LO]

Originally Posted by William Travers

Brian and Lynn I commend you both for taking on this well over do project. This will not be easy. I also have been around when I heard echos of a national organization. But know one was willing to take a lead as you have. I too want to see this happen and I am optimistic that it will. My feeling is that we as EF Coaches need something that we can call our own. An organization that can be as diversed and well structered. Just think of the possibilities. Conventions, Community Service,Charity Benefits, Professional team representation, Media and Perks. Need I go on? You will never hear the question "are you comming out west with the convention"?. The question will be "were are we staying in LA this year"?. This will happen. Just be ready to pay your yearly Dues. Vendors you would benefit from this as well. This hobby community will grow in size. I am Pumped up!

"Keep the Faith"

Thanks for the Props Don.


Peace Will Travers

True, True and well stated, Uncle Will

To go from an occasional solitaire player (who thought he was the only guy still playing the game) about 7 years ago, to now being in a league with great guys like Lynn, Geno, and Kansas Bill is a wonderful trip to take. I hope that wherever the sport/hobby goes in the future, I'll be a small part of it.
Thanks to ALL of you who are giving your time and effort to help us all become one.