KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The electric football league kicked off its first event here in the Kansas City metro area.
The game started back in the 1940s and the formation of the league in the years after is still going strong.
“You spend hours preparing your team working plays and strategies that will play into the game,” said member Lynn Schmidt.
It’s not as easy as it looks, it takes preparation, focus, and a lot of time to perfect the art of the electric football fields.
“It’s something we grew up playing. I call it vibrating chess. I love the strategy of it,” said Kelley Newton, a member of the league.
The game’s conception can be traced all the way back to 1947, the Madden game before there were video game consoles. The work is hard, but the game has come a long way.
“We have custom fields; we are able to paint the men detailed figures with 3D figures and that kind of thing,” said Schmidt.
For this group of men, women, and children, it’s more than just fun, it’s the community they are able to build and the bonds created through this age-old game. Newton, the 2019 and 2020 world champion, knows that all too well.
“We believe in football fellowship and food, as you can see these guys come from all over the place, some of my best friends.”
But make no mistake about it, they are doing their very best to have a good time.
“It’s about people getting together and having a good time playing football, we kind of get to relive some of our dreams,” said Schmidt.
The season runs from September until July, nearly a year, but they’re all competing for the 1st place prize.
