If you think Bill Cowher had trouble controlling his players on the field last Sunday, wait till you see the Super Bowl this weekend.

Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Rob Dalmasse sets up a Steelers-Browns game on his electric football board. Click photo for larger image. 11th Annual Official Electric Football Super Bowl & Convention Where: Embassy Suites Hotel, 550 Cherrington Parkway, Coraopolis. When: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Coaches, 7 to adult, can sign up for the tournament on Friday 8-9 p.m. and on Saturday 8:15-8:45 a.m. Admission: Everything is free; www.miggle.com

T his isn't Eagles-Patriots. This is the 11th annual Electric Football Super Bowl, kicking off in Steeler Country for the first time tomorrow at the Airport Embassy Suites in Coraopolis.

In Electric Football, as every boomer knows, you set up your little players on the board, hit the switch, and, when it starts buzzing, anything can happen -- your little football men smash together, go backward, sideways and sometimes, miraculously, straight ahead.

The pure Randy-Moss-ian unpredictability of the players would seem to rule out competitive play. But that won't stop the "coaches" in leagues nationwide from coming to Coraopolis to battle with those little felt balls.

In Pittsburgh, one of the head coaches is Rob Dalmasse, a 42-year-old from Edgewood who formed a league with his friends in the chemistry department at Carnegie Mellon.

He first played Electric Football back in '69 on his brother's board. It was Browns vs. Jets. During the glory days of the '70s, he updated to make it Steelers vs. Cowboys. Then, like most kids, he stashed it in the basement and went on with his life.

That is until 1997, when he and a football buddy visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame and saw a board there. "I dug it out of the basement, and we played it all night. It still worked."

The next day, he did an Internet search and discovered that not only was Miggle Toys (formerly Tudor), the creator since 1947, still making Electric Football, but a thriving subculture existed of people playing in leagues and customizing their own players, right down to the Troy Polamalu hair coming out of the helmet.

Dalmasse's friendly league of about eight coaches begins in February, after the real and the Electric Football Super Bowls. He sets up four boards on his dining room table and puts his 30-to-40-man team into action.

As an experienced Electric Football coach, do his players go backward and sideways?

"You have control to a point. The coach sends out a play, and you hope for the best. I don't know the last time you played, but now the little bases the figures are on, they have dowels for directional purposes. So, they'll curl and trap block and bump people out of bounds. I'm good with running plays, the off-tackle; my offensive line is really powerful," Dalmasse says laughing.

He says he's a pretty adept passer, up to about 20 yards. On the passing downs, they'll start the play and then turn off the board, so the coach can fling back the quarterback's arm and attempt to hit the receiver with the felt ball. Alas, they don't actually catch them, so at the Super Bowl convention, there will be a referee there in zebra stripes to make the tough calls.

They'll also be checking to make sure the players aren't on the "steroids" of Electric Football.

"The real enthusiasts do what we call tweaking the bases," Dalmasse says. "Some guys boil the bases [of the players] so it softens the bristles and they run faster and straighter."

The Miggle convention also rules out the customized players and the leather balls that some coaches favor, sticking instead with the team that comes in the basic Electric Football box.

Like most Pittsburghers, Dalmasse is a Steelers fan in mourning this week. In the Electric league, though, he's forced to take the field as the Dallas Cowboys.

"Being that I run this league, I allowed all the other coaches to pick which team they want to play. The Steelers were taken first, of course, so it came down to, 'What team do I want to be that everyone hates?' It came down to the Cowboys or the Ravens. I chose the Cowboys, because everyone dislikes them, particularly in the Pittsburgh region, and when they see the Dallas Cowboys, they're going to give you their best game."

Dalmasse will compete in the tournament this weekend, trying to make it to the Super Bowl Sunday at 1 p.m. There will also be chances for spectators of all ages to get involved, and there will be tables for sale, dealers and an exhibit of a new customized replica of Heinz Field, built to surround the Miggle board.

For Dalmasse, this is just the kickoff to the season in his dining room. Pretty soon, there will be eight chemistry guys in there leading teams, eating pizza, throwing challenge flags.

What does his wife think?

Here's a guess. She thinks he's crazy.

"Yeah," he says laughing. "But she's been very supportive. There's a whole slew of questions I would like to ask the women. I think the question I'd most like pose to women whose husbands or brothers or sons play Electric Football is, 'Have you ever walked into the room and your Electric Football family member is sitting there talking to his figures?'

"Because," he says cracking up, "it's happened."