BUFFALO — When he was asked about the Harlem Globetrotters’ continued relevance in the 21st century, Curly Neal chuckled and grinned.
The Globetrotters legend, in town earlier this month to promote Friday’s Globetrotters game at the University at Buffalo’s Amherst campus, pulled out a piece of paper that had printed on it the team’s itinerary for its current tour. The “Magical Memories” tour schedule listed two cities per day (two teams concurrently circumnavigate North America), six days per week, from late December through May 2.
“You look at that and tell me we’re not busy,” Neal said.
The Globetrotters have played more than 25,000 games since the team’s inception about 1926, but team members try to make sure every night holds something special for audience members. Routines such as the confetti-filled water bucket and spinning ball on the finger remain for older fans, while new routines and a post-game on-court autograph session help maintain the interest of younger fans.
That connection with fans is what Neal has focused since hanging up his sneakers in 1985. The 22-year Globetrotter veteran joined the team in 1963 out of Johnson C. Smith University and is one of five Harlem players to have his number retired by the team.
“I get my gratification meeting people like you, shaking hands,” Neal said during an interview in a hotel lobby, which preceded a press conference that afternoon at Women’s & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo and a subsequent drive to Rochester for a promotional appearance that evening. “People always tell me, ‘Thanks for the memories.’ ”
Despite being 67 years old and having four grandchildren in addition to five children, Neal keeps a busy schedule in his role as a Globetrotters ambassador. He was on the road 27 days in December and about half as many days this month discussing all things Globetrotter. Wearing his full warm-up outfit and sporting the signature three-colored Globetrotters basketball, Neal traded amusing banter with hotel staffers and negotiated a room service meal in between fielding a reporter’s questions.
“We’re about a lot of laughter, a lot of love,” said Neal, whose voice was raspy from a lingering cold. “We offer great family entertainment.”
Friday’s game will be a homecoming of sorts for Brian Addison, who left Western New York in the spring after playing two seasons as a power forward for the UB men’s basketball team. Addison is now a member of the Washington Generals, the Globetrotters’ longtime foil.
The Globetrotters reached their pinnacle in the 1970s, when the team had a Saturday morning cartoon based on it and made multiple appearances on the “Scooby-Doo” series. The team has largely been absent from television since appearing in a 1981 film based on the “Gilligan’s Island” TV series, but deals are in the works to have the team return to cartoon form later this year.
In addition, Neal said, the Globetrotters are working to have their games once again televised, perhaps on NBC or ESPN, and team members Nathaniel Lofton and Herb Lang recently competed on the CBS reality show “The Amazing Race.”
But the Globetrotters have remained a force in the entertainment realm, Neal said, due to their incessant touring. There no longer are any barns being stormed, but some of the team’s best games are in tinier venues similar to the high school gyms and YMCAs from which the Globetrotters blossomed, Neal said.
“Some of our best crowds are in the smaller cities,” said Neal, citing places without major sports franchises. “They say, ‘When’s the next game?’ That’s what they want to know.
“We just want to spread joy throughout everywhere we play. It’s about basketball, fun, laughter ... (A Globetrotters game) is one thing you always remember in your heart.”
Contact Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116.
IF YOU GO
• WHAT: Harlem Globetrotters game
• WHEN: 7 p.m. Feb. 5
• WHERE: Alumni Arena at the University at Buffalo, Amherst
• MORE INFORMATION: Visit harlemglobetrotters.com
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