Halloween is over, I know, but in light of the passed “holiday” I thought that I would share some tales from the football team’s repertoire in celebration of the “trick” aspect of Halloween.

It might not be as creative as Jim Halpert putting Andy Bernard’s calculator in Jell-O, but jokes are a small way that the players can unwind some from the season and keep each other in better spirits.

The first requires a car, some friends and the ability to wave your hand.

The “Look Away Game,” as it can best be described, is one that is played by linebacker Brit Miller, fullback Russ Weil, lineman Eric Block and others when driving in Weil’s car. Weil will find an unsuspecting victim walking on the side of the road and honk at this person. Upon which, the rest of the car will look at the person briefly and then quickly proceed to turn their heads in the opposite direction and wave.

“We’ll do this to every person that doesn’t have people on the other side of the road of them,” Miller said. “(Russ) knows when it’s good to do. He won’t do it, he won’t honk if there are people on both sides of the street. He wants them to know that we got them. It’s about 20 or 30 times a day, whenever he honks his horn, I know to wave, it’s kind of an innate behavior now.”

It might sound a little, well, strange, but it is something that entertains the eccentric sense of humor of Miller, Weil and the like.

“That’s just our kind of humor, I guess,” Miller said. “The joke’s on them, but maybe we’re not as funny as we think we are.”

The second prank that has come on with some of the players is a continuously scored one that began on Halloween two years ago.

Block and Miller were roommates together freshman year in Taft Hall. One day when Block wasn’t at their residence hall, the proverbial light bulb went on for Miller and thus “The Scare Game” was born. The game annually runs from the beginning of football season up until Halloween.

“Eric Block was coming home from a long day of studying,” Miller said. “I decided it would be a great idea to hide in his closet. We had walk-in closets in the dorm; it was nice, but his smelled pretty bad. Finally, after about 35 minutes of waiting, he came. He arrived into my little trap.”

If you don’t know Brit Miller, you’ll want to meet him.

“I scratched on the door for about five, 10 minutes,” Miller continued. “After a little while longer, he finally got up. It takes (Block, a New Orleans native) a little while. He’s kind of lazy, it’s all right, they just move slow down in the South.”

So after a solid 40 minutes of waiting and planning his scheme, Block finally came to open the door, adjacent to the closest where Miller was, where he thought the noise was coming from, when Miller sprung out and gave him a sneak attack that put the Boston Tea Party to shame.

“When I popped out of the closet, he turned white,” Miller said. “It was pretty cool that my scare was so good. He just got stiff and kind of glided over; he was mad at me, and just kind of glided over in a very mad way. He laughed it off and got me back. It escalated and now we have a game.”

How did he get Miller back?

“Hiding behind a door,” Miller said. “One of those cheap scares. But no one has ever done the closet one; I’ve coined that one. If someone hides in my closet, good for them, but I’ve got booby traps in there.”

With Halloween now gone, the Scare Game offseason has come. But Miller has advice for those who might want to start their own tradition next season.

“If you’re going to get your little sister, or brother, or roommate, think it through. Think about the negatives and positives of the situation, and hopefully no weapons are involved.”

Daniel Johnson is a junior in Communications. He can be reached at [email protected].