Pulling a Halloween prank: Captain Compete saves the day
Will Ferrell and Coach Carroll combine for a hilarious Halloween prank after Thursday’s practice
By Ben Malcolmson USCRipsIt PeteCarroll.com
Coach Carroll and Will Ferrell.
At it again.
The duo teamed up to pull off a hilarious multifaceted Halloween prank following practice Thursday, as Ferrell posed as “Captain Compete,” heroically saving the lives of two men and teaching life’s lessons in the process.
As the team huddled up at the conclusion of practice, a man, acting as a video staffer and situated 40 feet up in a cherry-picker adjacent to the field, leaned over the rail of the electronic lift to hear what a coach was yelling at him. But he fell over the railing to the ground, somersaulting in the process and scaring the players and hundreds of fans at practice.
Within seconds, Ferrell, dressed in a puffy muscle shirt and a Speedo, came running onto Howard Jones field carrying the fallen man, who was screaming, “He saved me!”
Ferrell then introduced himself as “Captain Compete” and addressed the stunned players.
“You’ve got to always compete!” Ferrell breathlessly screamed as players laughed, with Carroll apparently acting as Ferrell’s speechwriter. “You’ve got to compete in everything you do…because if you want to win forever, you’ve got to always compete!”
But the pranksters weren’t done yet.
As Ferrell continued to speak to the team, Carroll pointed everyone’s attention to a billow of smoke about 50 yards away on the adjacent Brian Kennedy field, where a man had caught on fire. The stuntman frantically ran around the field as Ferrell sprinted to his rescue.
Or something like that.
Ferrell ran to the tables containing Gatorade, grabbed the jug and, instead of taking off the lid and pouring the liquid out on the burning man, Ferrell threw the entire unopened jug at the man, eliciting uncontrollable laughter from the players.
After trained professionals put the fire out — no thanks to Captain Compete, who poured Gatorade on the man well after the fire had already been doused — Ferrell called the team together for a “Trojans” chant to close out practice before running away while the players continued to double over.
“Just a little Halloween spirit,” Carroll said. “We’re just having some fun.”
