Tudor’s 1973 Electric Football NFL Rule Book

Electric Football, despite the concerted efforts of the entire Electric Football community over the last two years, is still not part of the Toy Hall of Fame. And where in past years we here at The Unforgettable Buzz entered the month of July and the final weeks of the Hall of Fame nominating process with childlike enthusiasm, this year we’re full of world-weary adult cynicism.

We wish with all our hearts that Electric Football would get in the Hall and gain the recognition it truly deserves. Yet it seems that our favorite game has become the Jim Marshall of the toy world. A deserving and worthy Hall of Fame contender that gets completely overlooked year after year.

Is Electric Football the Jim Marshall of the toy world?

A major part of our frustration is…how many 66-year-old toys have a current modern manufacturer, not to mention a passionate and fully active community behind it? Were people really writing impassioned pleas last year about little green army men…including details down to the exact Christmas morning the miniature infantry showed up? (Let’s make it clear that we DO think little green army men belong in the Hall.)

And don’t get us started on “bubbles.” Well, since we did start, let’s finish. Bubbles are fun for about 10 minutes on a warm summer day. Then you put the container away (or mom stashed it) and you forgot about it until the next year — by which point the bubble fluid had completely dried up. This you did until you turned eight. Then you never gave bubbles another thought. Nobody, absolutely nobody, remembers their first bottle of bubbles. And NOBODY in the world can recite an address where bubbles were made. How many of us can still quote from memory Tudor’s “176 Johnson Street, Brooklyn, New York?”

As you can tell, we’re feeling pretty jaded about this whole Toy Hall of Fame thing. We think that Electric Football is being intentionally overlooked. We also think that there’s more to the nominating process than simply emailing stories about your favorite toy. If the process were that…shall we say, transparent, it’s hard to believe that everybody’s efforts last year wouldn’t have landed Electric Football into the top 12 Finalist. Perhaps if Electric Football had a corporate sponsor it would have a better chance? (Or any chance?)

So is it worth ramping up another Toy Hall of Fame campaign in July of 2015? Can we really go about doing the exact same thing as in previous years and honestly expect a different outcome?

What do you think?

Maybe the first thing everyone does after arriving in Richmond for the Electric Football Convention on July 31 is submit a Toy Hall of Fame nomination? It will be the final day of the process. Perfect timing for late and conclusive push? The third time is a charm?

Just thinking out loud and looking for a little karma. We sure could use it.

Earl & Roddy

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