Sweet Georgia on My Mind

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, if you were a kid in the 1970s or ΄80s, you remember watching the Harlem Globetrotters on TV. Each week on their Saturday morning TV show, the ΄Trotters would travel from city to city, inevitably running into some dastardly villain who plots their demise. It was up to the Globetrotters to stop them, which meant, of course, a game of basketball. See, back in those days, they didn’t have inner-city dance-offs to solve disputes like we do now. Instead, justice was served on the cold, hard courts. Jukin’ and jivin’, stutter-steppin’ and layin’ up, the Globetrotters would overcome adversity and thrash those dastardly villains into submission. And when Curly, Geese, Gip, and crew were done with them, those bad-guys would be begging for mercy. Globetrotter justice, it seems, is one cruel bitch.

Truth is, the animated series was corny, ridiculous, and loads of fun – just like the real Globetrotters. But if the real Globetrotters ever tried to solve crimes by ballin’ with the perpetrators, these cats would get punched in the neck. So, they do what they’ve done for 82 years: Play comedic exhibition games for big crowds, sign autographs, and roll basketballs across their limbs to the tune of “Sweet Georgia Brown.” That shit never gets old. Check out the ΄Trotters as they whistle their way into the BankAtlantic Center (1 Panther Pkwy., Sunrise) this Saturday at 1 p.m. Tickets start at $22. Call 954-358-5885, or visit www.ticketmaster.com.
Sat., March 1, 2008