He arranged them into something like a semicircle. “Guys, gather around for a minute,” Ferrari said. In a way, we’re all Washington Generals aren’t we? They had no idea in the beginning about the grind of the road, the trials of monotony, the exhausting challenge of playing hard in a losing effort night after night after night. So many were just kids, right out of college. There were the players, his players, he’d signed hundreds of them. It was so familiar.Īt halftime, he walked into the Generals’ locker room. But he looked around, at the thousand or so fans in the crowd, and he saw their joy. The right emotion, certainly, was sadness. Now, he sat in the Wildwood convention center, and he tried to feel the sadness. He would try to take in their joy and hold on to it. He would look at the awed and delighted faces of those adults who had grown up with the Globetrotters. Were they laughing? Were they having a good time? Ferrari would look at the way parents held up their children, so they could see.
He never stopped trying.Īnyway for Klotz, for Ferrari, for the Generals, the real scoreboard was those fans. But, as Red always said, you never stop trying, right? Red Klotz died a year ago at the age of 93. Yes, beating the Globetrotters was a challenge. In the end, the Globetrotters would go into their famous “Sweet Georgia Brown” weave offense, which has no defense. The referees consistently missed blatant Globetrotters rules violations. True, they faced a few disadvantages, such as the fact that the Globetrotters would sometimes hide the ball under their shirts, or attach a string to the ball, or pull down the Generals players’ pants, or soak a player with a bucket of water. Weird as it sounds, the Generals were always playing to win. Read that again: The team’s purpose was to PLAY the Globetrotters, the purpose was not to LOSE to the Globetrotters. The team’s purpose, as you no doubt know, was to play the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters. He dubbed the team the Washington Generals after the country’s new president, Dwight D. They were also the scoreboard for Ferrari’s father-in-law, Red Klotz, who founded the team in 1953. He continued to watch the people in the stands. It was the most wonderful life they could ever imagine, though they almost never won a game. He and his wife, Jody, ran the Washington Generals. Maybe 20 years ago, he became something more, a position without a real title. How many basketball games had he been to in the last 35 years? Eight thousand? Ten thousand? More? Yes, this felt like home. “So you know if they are asking, they enjoyed it.John Ferrari sat in the Wildwood, N.J., convention center, and he watched the people in the crowd, and the thing that struck him was how normal it all felt. Some of the players who participated here last year asked if they could come back. “We’re about families and creating memories that last a lifetime,” said Brett Meister, senior vice president of communication for the Globetrotters.
The production played to near-full houses during its run last summer, and there have been enhancements and changes for the 2016 version.
Each show ends with the players signing autographs as long as there are fans who want to interact with the players. It’s very audience-inclusive, judging by the team’s final dress rehearsal on Friday afternoon. There is a half-court indoor setup, with a host/MC, Globie the mascot and displays of dribbling, passing, trick shots and comedy routines by the players. The Globetrotters' show at Silver Dollar City isn’t the same as the tour the team takes virtually year-round. A third female player - Joyce “Sweet J” Ekworomadu - will be playing in Branson at some point this summer, but the 2008 Texas State graduate is in Nigeria, trying to help her national team qualify for a spot in the Rio Summer Olympics.
0 kommentar(er)
