Ahh, Sweet Georgia Brown.

In the winter of 1981, I found myself in the back of my parents’ station wagon during a blizzard. My sister’s husband was driving while my Mom was riding shot gun. Amidst all the snow that was dumping itself onto Kansas City at the time and our car was skidding left and right as it slowly inched its way home, I hadn’t a care in the world. And why was that? I had just attended my first Harlem Globetrotter’s game.

It’s been quite a few years since that night when I drifted off into a peaceful sleep in the back of the old battle wagon as we drove home from Kemper Arena. I’ve since seen the Trotters a half dozen times and each time I still feel like I’m a little boy seeing them for the first time. There’s just something truly magical about the team, the players, and the experience overall. Sure, they run the same routine they’ve performed decade after decade but each and every time I’m still riveted. I can’t help myself.

Growing up in the ’70s, the Harlem Globetrotters were the team. Whenever they appeared on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports”, all the kids in my neighborhood would gather around the tube and marvel at the team’s basketball skills. I had a special connection to the team that no one else in my neighborhood could claim — my oldest brother Matt roomed with Gator Rivers, a Harlem Globetrotter, while he was attending college. During one trip home to visit the family, Matt passed on the trick of being able to spin the basketball on his finger to me after Gator had taught it to him. Years later I met Gator Rivers and told him the tale of how I learned to spin the ball on my finger. To this day, I still have the basketball he signed for me at home in a case.

When my son turned seven, I took him to see the Globetrotters live for the first time. At the time I was seeing a woman named Janell and, being so excited about getting to see the Globetrotters again, I remember having to stop walking so quickly to let them catch up to me. Can you tell that I was pretty anxious to get to my seat? I honestly couldn’t tell you who was more thrilled with the game after it was over — me or Alex.

Having never really been impressed with anything related to sports, I was ecstatic to see Alex wanting to go down to meet the players and get their autographs. I bought him an official Globetrotters ball and off we went to fetch some signatures from his favorite players. It was at that moment that I made a promise to myself: I would take Alex to sit courtside every year from here on out until he figured out that they did the same routine. That lasted for five wonderful years.

This January, I get to begin the tradition anew. My daughter Gwen is now seven years old and has officially been passed the torch from her big brother. Alex and I recently began telling her about the Globetrotters and I think it’s safe to say that Gwen is definitely intrigued. Alex told her tales of guys making baskets behind their back at mid-court…and he knew from experience from sitting right in front of the guy as he made it, which was true. I told her about Michael Wilson, the player that held the world’s record for the highest slam dunk (which was around 12 feet at the time). We both remained mum about the confetti bucket. I want to see her reaction to it when it happens.

The one thing that I truly love about going to see the games is that these guys are truly ambassadors of good will…and they bring smiles to tens of thousands of people every single year. One particular incident at the last game I attended brought tears to my eyes.

It’s not a secret that I’m a big sap. Well, during the game one of the Trotters came rushing out onto the court while pushing the wheelchair of a kid with cerebral palsy. The referree immediately blew the whistle and played along, telling the Trotters that only players were allowed on the floor. The Trotters stood in unision and told the ref that he was the newest member, promising to prove it. They then scurried and returned with a Globetrotter jersey and shoes, which they promptly slipped onto the kid. The ref stomped his feet and said that anyone could wear the team uniform but the kid had to prove that he was a player. That’s when one of the Trotters took the ball, began spinning in on his finger, took the tiny finger of this small boy, and placed the ball on it. It kept spinning. Steadying the kid’s hand, the Globetrotter helped the ball keep going for a while as the audience exploded. The look on this little boy’s face was priceless…at that very moment, he was having an experience that he will remember, his parents will remember, and the audience will remember for the rest of their lives. Hell, I’m tearing up now just thinking about it. Fortunately I had the presence of mind to take a picture of the moment and still get a little misty eyed whenever I come across it in the photo album. That moment was pure magic.

I cannot wait until the game in January. I hope that Gwen enjoys it…I have a sneaking feeling that she will. When else does someone get to spend two hours in the presence of a multitude of big hearted magicians?