Cleveland trip electrifying experience for Las Vegan

Friday, Jan. 16, 1998 | 11:49 a.m.

Cleveland may not have a National Football League franchise this season but it isn't stopping the city from hosting a Super Bowl -- and Las Vegan Mike Turner will be competing.

Turner, a Clark County school bus driver, was selected from hundreds of entrants to participate in the Super Bowl of Electric Football 4 this weekend where the Cleveland Browns used to train in suburban Berea.

Electric Football, a game by Miggle Toys, Inc., is familiar to many who grew up in the '60s. The game features a playing field that vibrates when the power is turned on, moving the "players" around the field.

A frustrating game to many who tried playing it -- primarily because few could figure out where the players were going -- some such as Turner have spent countless hours mastering the game.

"I started playing in 1966, when I was a teenager," said the 46-year-old Turner. "The secret (to mastering the game) is time. I know guys who will come in Friday night and stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning, fooling with maybe 10 bases to find out what these bases do, how fast they are, where (the players) go to block a certain way.

"It takes time and then once you know your men, some guys have up to 50 men on one team -- they know what every man will do and each man has a specific assignment. I've got 22 men and I know what they all do, where they go -- most of the time. Once you know your men, you try to fix some plays that will fit your men."

Turner will "coach" the Denver Broncos in this weekend's Super Bowl of Electric Football, but he will not be able to bring his own bases or the players that sit on them. Those will be supplied by Miggle Toys. He and the other three participants will be given time to learn the nuances of the bases and players.

As the 10th-ranked Electric Football player in the nation, Turner is considered by some to be the favorite to win this weekend because of his mastery of the passing offense.

"One of the main reasons they feel I can win at any given time is because I throw the ball well," Turner said. "I use the West Coast offense, which I've done for years -- even before they started calling it the West Coast offense.

"I had a guy show me when I was young; he used to whup me all the time and I asked him how he threw the ball like that. He showed me and I picked up on it and that's basically how I base my offense, throwing the ball because it's a lot easier to move it than on the ground because people try to stop the running game."

Although he is a top-ranked Electric Football player and attends annual tournaments in Texas, Turner admitted that being picked to play in this weekend's event purely was a stroke of luck.

"You have to send a (video) tape to Miggle Toys and they review the tapes and they pick four people," he said. "I just happened to get picked this year. They've done this for four years and I just kept sending tapes in and you sit back and hope they pick you.

"I just kept playing and practicing and hoping they would pick me. This time, I got a surprise call and I got my shot to go."

The Super Bowl of Electric Football will cap off a very satisfying week for Turner, a long-time fan of the Denver Broncos who advanced to the real Super Bowl last weekend by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"This is a real good week," said Turner, who earned an all-expenses-paid trip to Cleveland. "My wife doesn't think so, though -- she's a Raiders fan. But this weekend is going to be fun. (Electric Football) is a lot of enjoyment: It has fun, self-satisfaction and if you've ever thought of being a coach, this is as close as it gets."