After 84 years of basketball traditions and excitement, the Harlem Globetrotters are coming to McArthur Court. The Globetrotters, a basketball show team composed of talented college players and former NBA players, put on an exhibition game that combines basketball skills and family entertainment.
On Friday, the Globetrotters will be playing at Mac Court for their 2010 “Magical Memories” tour before they travel on to Portland for a few more performances. Tickets range from $17 to $92 and the game starts at 7 p.m.
The Globetrotters have played more than 250,000 games in more than 120 countries and performed in front of everyone from the pope to the president of the United States.
Although basketball is already popular in the United States, the Globetrotters have been spreading the sport’s popularity worldwide. They recently participated in the well-known NBA All-Star 2010 game in Dallas, Texas.
The Globetrotters organization, in which the team is known as the “Ambassadors of Goodwill,” helps communities across the country by donating funds to schools, hospitals, and charities.
University freshman Chelsea Jackson saw the Globetrotters with her family last year in Sacramento, Calif.
“They make a basketball game fun and entertaining. They get kids involved and basically just joke around while playing basketball,” Jackson said. “I think it’s a great family show because it’s just fun and entertaining and isn’t very serious.”
The Globetrotters’ game incorporates several basketball skills such as dunking while jumping over a player’s head. The show also gets the kids in the audience involved and plays games with them. For families that purchase courtside seats, the kids often get called on the court to participate in a game with the Globetrotters.
In the midst of the professional and college basketball season, the Globetrotters offer an amusing and unrivaled way to enjoy the sport. With lots of tricks and skills, the players will entertain audiences of all ages at Mac Court this weekend.
Parents may remember going to see the show when they were younger and look forward to taking their kids.
“I think they have been around for so long because they are just an entertaining group of guys that don’t take things seriously, and people like to watch stuff like that,” Jackson said.
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