The "Game of a Lifetime" Story

It was an ordinary day. I could hardly wait for school to end so I could get home and head to Hershey with my Dad to see the Harlem Globetrotters. They were playing at the Hershey Park Arena tonight and my favorite player on the team, Meadowlark Lemon, will be there. The Globetrotters combine athleticism, theater and comedy and have three traveling teams. Meadowlark is the "Clown Prince" of one of the three teams. He has been with the Globetrotters since 1954 and I have seen him on TV a few times, but this will be neat, seeing him in person. We don't have the best of seats, but hey, we're at the Globetrotters game. Tonight they are playing the Washington Generals, but of course, that's who they always play. And the Globetrotters almost always beat them. The Generals are the fall guys for the Globetrotters, but also have some great athletes on the team. They just let the Globetrotters perform their routines so the crowds keep coming back. We take our seats and they dim the lights and then .... "Sweet Georgia Brown" starts to play. That is the team's signature song. Here come the Globetrotters!! The game starts and shortly after the tip-off, Meadowlark falls to the ground, yelling in pain. He is taken to the bench where they wrap his arm in bandages, but he is still yelling in pain. It is fairly quiet in the arena. Then someone on the bench asks him what is the matter with him and he responds with, "They bandaged the wrong arm!" OK, now everyone knows what they are in for during the game. A couple more minutes go by and Meadowlark gets fouled. He goes to the line and takes a shot that goes partway and stops and comes back to him. He used a ball with an elastic cord attached to it. More laughs! He goes to the bench for another ball and when he shoots this one it wobbles. The ref grabs the ball and rolls the ball down the court and it wobbles more. Weighted on one side. More laughs! The ref takes that ball to the sidelines and brings another ball back with him. He tries to bounce the ball to Meadowlark so he can take the foul shot, but the ball doesn't bounce. More laughs! All evening this goes on. My favorite was when Meadowlark grabs a bucket from the sidelines and starts for the crowd. Everyone knew it was filled with confetti, but when he reached the sidelines and pretends to trip, the bucket spills its contents into the crowd. And .... the contents was really water!! The crowd went wild! I know I did! The Globetrotters won again and the game was fantastic. The Globetrotters did draw criticism during the civil rights era, but Jesse Jackson came to their defense and said they were a positive influence for the black community. In 1971 Meadowlark was named as the team's coach and in 1978 was picked as the fourth most popular personality in America behind John Wayne, Alan Alda and Bob Hope. In 2001 they retired his #36, one of 5 uniform numbers to be retired by the Globetrotters. For me, I can say that I got to see him play one time, long ago. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.