TERRY COLUMN: NFL superstars spread smiles at Play 60

When the band of former NFL stars and Hall of Famers rolled through Glacier High School last weekend it lit up the faces of hundreds of kids.

Not all of them were young.

The NFL Play 60 Challenge saw some of the biggest names in football history, and a few local legends, come to Kalispell for a one-of-a-kind day. The star power of the organizing sponsors — For The Children, Inc., a nonprofit run by former NFL defensive player of the year Doug Betters, a longtime Whitefish resident, and Candy Bar Ranch, the sprawling Flathead Valley estate of former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. — helped attract some marquee names to spread the message of an active lifestyle and raise money to help families suffering from pediatric medical issues.

The biggest names needed little introduction.

Jerry Rice owns nearly every receiving record in the books, and along with Joe Montana and Steve Young, was the face of the 49ers, if not all of football, in the ’80s and ’90s.

Ronnie Lott is possibly the greatest safety of all time, an infamously punishing tackler known for his “woo licks,” or hits so hard the audience couldn’t help but gasp.

Both are NFL Hall of Famers, and along with fellow 49ers Dwight Clark and Roger Craig made quite the impression.

At least to the parents.

“It was really probably most fun for our players, who don’t really know them that well,” said Glacier football coach Grady Bennett, who helped marshal the event. Members of the Glacier and Flathead varsity football teams helped with the many events, including football, basketball and dodgeball with the former pros.

“When I was introducing who was going to come, a lot of them were looking at me like, ‘Who?’” Bennett said.

“Especially Dwight Clark, maybe top five most famous catches in NFL history. When I explained the group of 49ers and what they did, I think then they realized, ‘I’m hanging out with greatness today.’”

While that may make you feel old, the careers of all but Rice were over for five years by the time most of the high schoolers in attendance were born. The younger kids, likely just as fascinated with the Montana mascot Monte as the Hall of Famers in attendance, probably wondered why the only film of those guys playing is so grainy.

So, it was no surprise that the biggest smiles often came from the parents there to chaperone: delighted to get the chance to see their kids brush elbows with their sports idols.

The smile even leaked out of the normally reserved Bennett after the event.

“It’s fun just getting to meet those guys,” Bennett said.

“We took a picture (before the event) and right away, as I’m shaking hands, Roger Craig starts telling me this story about the value of high school football and remembering his high school coach and his experience and encouraging me to do a good job with these kids. As we walked out to the field he tells me this great story I’ll get to share with the kids.”

Bennett and Wolfpack defensive coordinator Shannon Smith even got to share some of the play calls with one of their heroes.

“We have some defensive calls after Ronnie Lott,” Bennett said. “We use his name. We got to tell him that. He said he’d never heard that, so that was neat.”

As the former pros left the field, a large horde of people surrounded them, hoping to capture one last glimpse of the stars as they left the field.

More important than their presence is the money they helped raise and the time they spent with the area’s youngsters. If it helped one more kid live a healthy lifestyle, or saved one more family from going into debt from traveling to get medical treatments, the camp served its purpose.

Years from now, a few of those kids will even be able to say they played with a Hall of Famer.

Then, they too may have to explain who that was, or why they were playing dodgeball. But, a new generation will get to feel old.

And maybe smile all over again.