How to Pull Off a Prank (and Overachieve in Life)

In 2008, I pulled off the best prank of my life. It was my final collegiate baseball season, we were dominating, and I was feeling pretty big for my britches. The situation was like this: one of my roommates was the best player in college baseball, he wasn’t going to his public speaking class, and I knew that. 

It seemed like the perfect ingredients for a world-class April Fools joke. 

Knowing he was taking the minimum 12 units required by the NCAA, I figured I could create a story where his professor drops him from his class, which would make him ineligible to play and ultimately freak him out. Afterall, it would be national news if it were true. 

It all came down to the letterhead. 

Anyone can write a fake letter, but I decided to run up to the offices of the Athletic Department and steal some nice paper with the embossed school logo on it. I printed my fake letter on the paper and pinned it to our locker room bulletin board and waited. 

It worked! And, it worked so good that my roommate was now in the office of our assistant athletic director’s office and specifically screening my calls. Finally on the third ring he answered.

“What?!”

I tried to hold it together and responded, “What are you doing?”

“I’m screwed, man. I got dropped from my speech class and I’m ineligible. I’m screwed. I’m about to meet with Matoso when he gets back. I’m dead.”

Holding it together I told him abruptly, “Leave. Leave now.”

When I told him I wrote the letter and died laughing he was floored. “Why would you do that?!” We all had a laugh later, including our assistant athletic director who thankfully thought it was hilarious. Two months later he’d be selected fourth overall in the MLB draft and all was right with the world. 

I’m telling you a funny story because I think there’s one reason and one reason alone that the prank worked. It came down to the letterhead. I pulled it off because the letter looked the part and that’s more than half the battle. 

I think about how ridiculous this prank was and how the presentation of this dumb letter is what sealed the deal. Any time I think about doing something that feels outside of my realm I lean on “looking the part”. 

In baseball, we say “act like you’ve been there before” and in other circles they say dress for the job you want, not the job you have. In any case, get yourself the right letterhead and I bet anything is possible.