Globetrotters delight big crowd at Auditorium

BANGOR – It was yet another loss for the New York Nationals, but it was a big win for all the fans who showed up to watch the Harlem Globetrotters at the Bangor Auditorium Tuesday night.

America’s ambassadors of goodwill hit the Auditorium hardwood and left with a 61-43 victory over the Nationals, but not before they delighted a crowd of approximately 6,000 fans with their trademark hoop hijinks, dribbling dexterity, and shooting skills.

Fans were treated to some old standbys – the pail-of-water and bucket-of-confetti gags, and the Harlem shuffle passing drill – and new wrinkles like The Flying Ma-Papas – a seven-member team of gymnasts who delighted the crowd with rope-jumping, leaping stunts and human towers.

It never gets old for the Globetrotters.

“Not at all. Not at all because each day is a new arena and every building is our home court,” said 72-year-old Trotters coach Charles “Tex” Harrison. “We get new fans and each year we create a new generation of Globetrotter fans and as long as people love what we do, we hope to continue doing it.”

Tuesday’s show was one of 220 shows the Globetrotters will do in the United States this year. They will also do another 50 overseas. The travel can be grueling, but it’s not enough to keep Harrison at home.

“Well, you know, I’ve done it now for 48 years, but there used to be times when I’d say to myself ‘Gee, I wish I didn’t have to put this uniform on,’ ” Harrison said. “But when you get to that building and you see all these people who have come to see you play only the way you can, and you see that little kid sitting there with a gleam in his eye watching you do tricks, the adrenaline starts flowing all over again and you go right on about the business of playing good basketball and making people happy.”

Harrison, who was a Globetrotters player for 18 years, misses getting out on the floor.

“I wish I could still get out there and do some of the things, but it’s still quite gratifying and I enjoy being here to impart some of my experiences to the younger fellas and help develop new Globetrotters,” he said.

New Trotters like Long Island native Seth Franco, only the second Caucasian ever to play for the Globetrotters. The first was Bob Karstens, who joined the team in 1942.

“I’ve seen footage of him and he was an amazing ballhandler and that’s what I focus on,” said the 25-year-old Franco. “It’s really an honor to follow in his footsteps because he brought the same kind of style.”

This if Franco’s first season with the Trotters. Last year, he was in Maine doing several high school assemblies promoting moral character. Hodgdon varsity girls basketball coach Wendy Ivey helped set up Franco’s appearances.

“We went to college [Houghton College] together and I know her real well. We’re really good friends,” Franco said. “I had a really great experience when I came up here and I learned two things: Maineiacs love basketball more than anything and they’re really open to people willing to share with them. I was really impressed with how open the kids were in the high schools I visited.”

Two squads – one on each coast – began touring the week before Christmas and will wind up their current national tour April 10 before embarking on a two-month European tour starting April 17.

“The travel can be tough sometimes, but knowing that you’re doing something to make people happy and make them smile is a reward for us,” said Matthew “Showbiz” Jackson, the reigning Clown Prince of basketball.

This is Jackson’s 17th year as a Globetrotter.

“It’s a life-changing experience to go to a Harlem Globetrotters show,” Jackson said. “I can remember when I was a kid and the first time I saw them. That made me want to be one.”

Now Jackson is on the other end, no doubt inspiring future generations of Globetrotters. Maybe even one of them was watching from the Auditorium stands Tuesday night.