Trotters treat

Alumni Arena opened its doors for the Harlem Globetrotters Friday night, and families from throughout the Buffalo-Niagara region flooded its gates. They piled into the stands to watch the zany, often theatrical and always-hilarious athletes put on an unforgettable show.
The audience knew it was in for a treat from the start. Before the players even set foot on the floor, an emcee got the crowd involved in a shouting match. One side of the stands screamed, 'Globe' while the other section replied with 'Trotters.'
By the time the two teams – The Harlem Globetrotters and the Washington Generals – were ready for warm-ups, Alumni Arena had reached full capacity with over 6,000 fans in attendance. It was a lively crowd consisting of mostly families from around the area.
Many parents had seen the Globetrotters when they were younger and wanted to share the show with their children. Troy Mezzio, a 39-year-old father from Cheektowaga, decided to bring his family after seeing an advertisement.
'We heard about the event through a television advertisement,' Mezzio said. 'I grew up with the Globetrotters when I was a kid. We used to watch them on television all of the time, and seeing them live for the first time was great.'
His children loved the show, too. His daughter Michelle, 11, loved all of the slam-dunks and his son Daniel, 7, enjoyed all of the props that they used.
Whether the Generals' head coach was hypnotizing one of the Globetrotters with his spiraled umbrella, the players were giving the ref an eye exam where he read the letters 'I-M-A-F-O-O-L,' or the athletes were chasing each other around with buckets of water and splashing fans in the front row, the entire night was action packed and full of laughs.
Before the game, the Globetrotters honored Bulls great Jim Horn (1951-55), who is the second leading all-time scorer here at Buffalo. After his college days, Horn joined the Harlem Globetrotters and played with them for a number of years.
Playing for the Washington Generals was another former Bull, Brian Addison. Addison came in as a transfer from Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY and played at Buffalo for two seasons.
The Harlem Globetrotters had an 83-game winning streak on the line and were trailing late in the third quarter. Thanks to some fantastic dunks and lackluster defense by the Generals, the Trotters battled back and came away with a 75-72 victory.
After the game, the players stuck around to sign autographs, further pleasing the fans that already had an exciting night.
'I remember going when I was a kid,' said Sandy Stock, 36, of Clarence. 'I figured that my daughters would really enjoy it so I got some tickets and [the Globetrotters] didn't disappoint. I enjoyed all of it and my kids thought it was a really fun show.'
Other parents had also seen the Globetrotters when they were younger and wanted to share the experience with their family.
'I saw [the Globetrotters] when I was a little girl,' said Dawn Watson, 40, of Niagara Falls. 'I don't remember where I saw them, but it was somewhere in Buffalo and it was definitely a lot of fun.'
Chances are that Watson and Stock saw the Globetrotters at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, or as most used to refer to it, The Aud. The arena was knocked down in 1996, but it held a maximum capacity of 18,000 people and sported many major league events.
The parents weren't the only ones who had a good time.
'[The performance] was amazing,' said Spencer Watson, 14, of Niagara Falls ON. 'I've never seen anything like it before and I had a great time. Their ball handling was incredible, especially Scooter's.'
Many fans came down from Canada to see the show and, according to Dawn Watson, it took more time to find a parking space than to get across the border.
'Getting into America was the easy part,' Watson said. 'It was the parking that was horrible. We were looking for a half-an-hour to find a parking spot.'
There weren't too many college students at the event, most likely because it is more of a family outing. Despite the traffic getting onto campus, the fans were all smiles by the end of the night.
The Globetrotters grabbed the audience's attention early, and kept fans entertained throughout the night. Whether they were running their infamous three-man weave, dancing to Michael Jackson, or playing football on the basketball court, there was never a dull moment.

E-mail: andrew.wiktor@ubspectrum.com