About to turn a hundred years old, the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team will make their biggest tour in Brazil. The group will be in the country for 34 days, from September 23, for a series of presentations that will not be limited to the capitals.
It will, for example, from Santa Catarina Criciuma, São José and Joinville and the Santa Cruz do Sul and Caxias do Sul.
“We chose some smaller cities to bring the opportunity of an international project to those who do not have access to this type of project all the time,” says Victoria Echer of MP Group, which produces the Brazilian tour.
“We open the tour in Fortaleza, for a capacity at the stadium of 15 thousand people, and we passed through Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte,” she says.
The group will also pass by Belém, Pará, on September 27, on one of the 15 dates already announced. There is more to come, with tickets starting at $ 195 (1 kg of food), in the case of São Paulo, through the website Digital Ticket.
Harlem Globetrotters has been in Brazil at least 20 times since its debut in 1951. After the first visit, it passed the country in 1952, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1995, 1997, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2017.
“I know I have some teammates who were in Brazil,” says Corey Shaw, a player who will travel to Brazil this time. He tries to describe what a team presentation is.
“I would start by saying that we are all competitive athletes. Some of us played in the NBA. But we know that, within this game, we will entertain families and people who may not even like basketball. So, I say it’s the best of both worlds, a game with a little sense of humor.”
Shaw denies that the Globetrotters opposing team, currently called Washington Generals, is there just to lose the game.
“They don’t have to lose. They try to win, they are supercompetitive. They are professional players who have a chance to come to Harlem Globetrotters. But yes, Washington Generals is a team of the same company.”
One of Shaw’s favorite plays is the four -point basket. “We have an arc designed on the four -point floor, which is 30 feet [9,1 m] from the distance from the basket. I believe they are five feet [1,5 m] Farther than the three -point throwing NBA, “he explains.
“And we have guys who throw the four points as well as NBA athletes throw three points. I saw one of my companions hit 22 in a row. It’s amazing to see, and you can’t falsify it. It’s not something that generals can help us do.”
Globetrotters were created in Chicago, United States, in 1926, and performed in about 124 countries in their 99 years. The most important trip happened when they were invited to nine Moscow games and got to know Prime Minister Nikita Kruschev in 1959 at a time when the Soviet Union and the United States practiced the Cold War.
Another impressive achievement came when Hanna-Barbera studio turned the players into a cartoon into two series, 1970 and 1979, and the latter players had superhero powers.
“It’s crazy because I was lucky enough to have my favorite globetrotter of all time as a coach. His name is Sweet Lou Dunbar. He was the chart in the drawing. He was in these drawings, and there are people now recognize him in real life because he was there!” Shaw.
“There are so many famous players, such as Magic Johnson, who said they started playing basketball because of Harlem Globetrotters. No matter what someone is going through, we are always able to bring joy. I feel my guilt if there is someone in the environment who is not having fun, so I think I was born Globetrotter. If we keep doing it, we can reach 200 years.”
