They Just Don't Know

[daainchent1]

When i knew i was getting back into the hobby i called every toy store,even ask some friends about electric football. The majority said no one plays that anymore.
The hobby shops were worse because they had never heard of the game before.
Its a good thing i didn't listen to them.

[mark robin]

glad you found us here. whats really weird is i know for a fact there are tons more of us that dont know how popular this hobby really is. in its heyday, there were lots of people who were in the hobby, and say, a kid who wasnt into it, well, bet your bottom dollar he knew someone in it. every street in my vast neihborhood had small leagues setup. i wish there was a way we could cheaply advertise it to those who are NOT online. in the past nearly everyone was in about a 18 year age range, when it was really popular, so we need to reach the people in the 38 to about 60 yrs old to get those back into it. plus we MUST get kids and teens into it also. one avenue i tried(only for a month, maybe i will do it again) is local online community forums and online local area websites that have stuff for sale and list clubs/hobbies/announcements etc etc. our local website gives one free ad per month, maybe when january comes i will post another ad, but they wont let you put websites on there unless you pay. how about some of us print CHEAP business cards showing some of these websites and put your phone number out, i mean, if you print up 500 or 1000 cards for say, 9.99 and give them all out, i bet we would at least get a few more back into it. give them out at hobbystores hobbyshops sports stores, sportsbars, you get the idea.... promote...sorry, two cups of coffee; lol.

[detroitchild]

Mark,

I think you're on to something. Initially, inexpensive marketing is the key. Perhaps sending fliers to hobby stores (I believe the MFCA had fliers at one time). Perhaps working something out in conjunction with a company like Miggle to contact toy stores. Perhaps the MFCA working in conjunction with various leagues to promote something with youth groups. I have not thought these things out and not sure if they would work but I'd like to see us attempt something.

[NATIONAL]

There are thousands that are not plugged in!!! Do you want the red or blue pill?!?! LOL

I was talking to a guy today at work. He was telling me about his fantasy football league. That his group have been playing for over 12yrs or so.
It was now around lunch, and we were walking to our cars, so I pulled out my latest Tweak issue to show him

He was blown away!!!

He wanted to know how do we pass, where can you buy the board.

I told him that our league (NEFL) starts in Feb, he said he will be there to check it out, and he's bringing his sons!
A few issues ago, Wolf printed up those MFCA cards....some had that Barry Sanders fig on it. I told him to have his son go to the website, and check it. I gave him 2 cards, and he wanted my phone number.
He said he might even get into it.....as he said, he's a football junkie!!!

I also printed out the flyer that was the back cover of the Tweak. I hung those up in recreation centers in the area. I got a lot of emails. Another thing to try is to play in sports bars or pizza shops. We sometimes play in a bowling alley where we have people that can watch us.

That is true, we have to get the kids involved. Even tho we have 32 teams in the NEFL, we also have the Deuce, last season there were 12 younger coaches that played in their own season, and ended in a Super Bowl (won by Zack Greco) The kids had a blast, we will again be looking to add to that amount, and increase the fun meter. The best thing about the kids, you never hear an argument when they play!!!!

The Tweak is a great recruitment tool, the only thing I didn't have with me was my ipod or PSP which has the ESPN special on them, and the Nissan commercial done by the coaches of the LAEFL.

Nat'l

[steelerfan]

What is the ESPN special??

[mark robin]

hey guys, here is one more way...

there are new people every Christmas that get onto the miggle forums, jump on there and answer some of their questions please.

[Lindyhopper49]

espn special!? how do i see it????

[jeff]

I think the espn special was titled " The lord of the Rings" if I am not mistaken.

[NATIONAL]

The ESPN cameras were everywhere. They shot a lot of footage. They edited down to about a 20-25 minute special. It starts off with them interviewing real NFL coaches asking them about EF (holgrem, H. Edwards, Gruden & Norv Turner. Then it goes on with them talking to Wolf, Norbert, Big Keith & Ron Bell.

They even have that guy that does all the real football games...you know the guy with the voice!
It was on youtube, but it's gone now. I will check again.

Nat'l

[Shabby J]

Originally Posted by jeff

I think the espn special was titled " The lord of the Rings" if I am not mistaken.

You are correct, it was a show titled "The Lord of the Rings". I have it on my DVR in HD, in fact I watched it just the other morning before work.