February 5, 2018 at 6:34 p.m.
Early birthday present was entertaining
As I See It
By Diana Dolecki-
I received an early birthday present. My husband bought tickets for us to attend a Harlem Globetrotters basketball game in Fort Wayne. I dislike most sports. I don’t understand the allure of watching people who make more per month than I will ever make in a lifetime try to get some kind of ball or other to go in a specific place. I don’t understand people risking their health and sometimes their lives just to entertain the rest of us.
Having said that, I was excited to attend this particular game. I consider the Globetrotters to be entertainers who happen to be expert ball players. The Washington Generals, their opponents, were also excellent ball players.
The pre-game shenanigans ensured that nobody was bored while waiting for the show to begin. There was a game of musical chairs in which the mascot ran off with the chair and several other comedy routines involving children plucked from the audience.
The Washington Generals came onto the court and were greeted with a chorus of boo’s. I hope they are well-paid as being the designated bad guys has to bother them occasionally.
The Globetrotters entered the arena and the cheers were louder than those deriding their opponents. I was surprised to see that there were girls on the team. I looked it up after we returned home and found that there are currently four women on a team of 33.
Although the team was founded way back in 1926 by Abe Saperstein, it wasn’t until 1985 that women became part of the act. Olympic Gold Medalist Lynette Woodard, the cousin of Globetrotter legend Hubert "Geese" Ausbie, joined the Globetrotters and was the first female to ever play on a men’s professional basketball team. The Globetrotters have featured 15 female players in their history.
The women were every bit as talented as the men. They scored and did flips off the backstop. They held their own and were as adept at handling the ball and entertaining the audience as the guys were.
A surprising bit of trivia is that Pope Francis is an honorary Harlem Globetrotter. Personally, I would love to see the pope on a basketball court but since the title is honorary, I doubt that will happen. There have been a total of 10 honorary members in the team’s history.
One of the reasons the Harlem Globetrotters was created was to demonstrate that African-Americans could excel on a professional level. I would say they accomplished that and so much more. From what I saw, they deserve the honor of being called the world’s best basketball team.
To watch them doing one of their signature moves like the weave, wherein the players looked like they were doing some kind of crazy dance, was to realize that many hours of practice had been spent perfecting their coordination and skills. I didn’t expect that flips and gymnastics would be part of the entertainment, but it was.
As usual, the Globetrotters won, even after a bit of adjusting the score because of blatant cheating by the Trotters. The entire show was entertaining and family friendly. It was a perfect way to spend a chilly Sunday afternoon.
Having said that, I was excited to attend this particular game. I consider the Globetrotters to be entertainers who happen to be expert ball players. The Washington Generals, their opponents, were also excellent ball players.
The pre-game shenanigans ensured that nobody was bored while waiting for the show to begin. There was a game of musical chairs in which the mascot ran off with the chair and several other comedy routines involving children plucked from the audience.
The Washington Generals came onto the court and were greeted with a chorus of boo’s. I hope they are well-paid as being the designated bad guys has to bother them occasionally.
The Globetrotters entered the arena and the cheers were louder than those deriding their opponents. I was surprised to see that there were girls on the team. I looked it up after we returned home and found that there are currently four women on a team of 33.
Although the team was founded way back in 1926 by Abe Saperstein, it wasn’t until 1985 that women became part of the act. Olympic Gold Medalist Lynette Woodard, the cousin of Globetrotter legend Hubert "Geese" Ausbie, joined the Globetrotters and was the first female to ever play on a men’s professional basketball team. The Globetrotters have featured 15 female players in their history.
The women were every bit as talented as the men. They scored and did flips off the backstop. They held their own and were as adept at handling the ball and entertaining the audience as the guys were.
A surprising bit of trivia is that Pope Francis is an honorary Harlem Globetrotter. Personally, I would love to see the pope on a basketball court but since the title is honorary, I doubt that will happen. There have been a total of 10 honorary members in the team’s history.
One of the reasons the Harlem Globetrotters was created was to demonstrate that African-Americans could excel on a professional level. I would say they accomplished that and so much more. From what I saw, they deserve the honor of being called the world’s best basketball team.
To watch them doing one of their signature moves like the weave, wherein the players looked like they were doing some kind of crazy dance, was to realize that many hours of practice had been spent perfecting their coordination and skills. I didn’t expect that flips and gymnastics would be part of the entertainment, but it was.
As usual, the Globetrotters won, even after a bit of adjusting the score because of blatant cheating by the Trotters. The entire show was entertaining and family friendly. It was a perfect way to spend a chilly Sunday afternoon.
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