Whether or not you're a football fan, you would get a kick out of trick plays.

They're a hoot. The reason they're so much fun is that trick plays are not only unexpected ... they are off-beat, with the team playing the trick trying to catch the other team off guard.

One of my favorites took place the day after Thanksgiving when Nebraska's quarterback, Zac Taylor, pulled up from under center on fourth down and started walking off the field. While everyone was wondering what he was up to, Husker Center Bret Byford direct-snapped the ball to Tierre Green, who took off around right end for a first down.

Later, I was telling Parker Adair of Omaha about the trick play. "I know that play," he said. "I've seen it run." As it turns out, Parker was an assistant coach last year for the Omaha Chiefs, a team that includes Martae Green, Tierre's 14-year-old cousin. The Chiefs ran the exact same play--successfully--a year before the Huskers' did.

My theory--and I have no proof of this--is that Tierre watched Martae run the play, liked it and took the idea to Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan. As a reward for giving him a good trick play idea, Callahan let Tierre run the play.

Whether or not that's true, it's an example of where most trick plays originate. They come from America's playgrounds. Kids being kids, they're always trying new stuff, including wild and crazy trickery in sandlot football games.

Way back when I was a kid, one of our favorite plays was the Statue of Liberty. That's when the quarterback goes back like he's going to pass, only to have an end come running around behind him to lift the ball from the quarterback's cocked throwing hand and take off running around the other end.

Another favorite trick play of ours was to have one of our players act like he was running off the field, only to stop a foot or two inbounds, then take off down the field and catch a pass. That play was best tried at midfield, in front of the bench, because it made it harder for the opposing team to spot the sneaky player on the sideline.

The more I think about it, the more convinced I become that football teams should make much greater use of trick plays than they do now.The trick plays are not only fun; they are unexpected, giving teams an element of surprise in tight game situations.

And, besides, trick plays provide exciting, added reasons for coaches to coach, players to play and fans to watch football games. I can't wait to witness the next one.

America's Best

Gift Program

You can go anywhere you want -- be it the biggest of cities or the smallest of villages -- and you will not find a Christmas gift program that compares in quality and purpose with the McCook Toy Box.

It's the greatest. No questions are asked and no child is turned away. All that a child has to do to get a gift is show up. "There's not a program like it in the entire United States," says Santa Bill Stewart, who has been helping with the McCook Christmas toy giveaway for 40 years.

That first year, Bill remembers working in the old Automotive garage to fix up one bike and one wagon. My how the program has grown!

This year, Bill and his helpers are upgrading 150 bicycles, 18 tricycles and 10 wagons. In addition, Toy Box volunteers are collecting hundreds of new and reconditioned toys and games, plus 300 dolls are being lovingly restored by the ladies of the First Congregational Church. "We have done 240 so far, and we will have another 60 completed in time for the giveaway," said Bev Green.

Added to this are the Barbie Dolls, dressed in outfits sewn each year by Jean Miracle. "It's something I love to do," she said. "It fills my time and gives the children something special for Christmas."

All together, more than 700 youngsters from throughout the Tri-State Region will get free gifts this year. The toy distribution will take place Sunday, Dec. 10, at the National Guard Armory in McCook. The giveaway begins at 1 p.m.

Toy Box gifts -- freely offered and thankfully received -- express the true meaning of Christmas. The program was started as Toys for Tots by Dr. Joe Magrath and the late Sharon Snyder in the mid-1960s, and and has gone forward and grown thanks to Santa Bill's loyal devotion and the help of many others.

The Toy Box volunteers in the McCook area deserve our unending appreciation. Their gifts of time and talent brighten the Christmases of hundreds of children throughout the Tri-State Region.