Ambassadors coming to Florala

by: Jan Allred

There aren't very many older people who can honestly say they have never seen or heard about the Harlem Globetrotters. On January 23 at 2 p.m., the Harlem Ambassadors will be in Florala to take on a local basketball team.

The Ambassadors are the basketball team formerly known as the Harlem Globetrotters and their theme is, "This ain't your grandfather's basketball show." The goal of the Harlem Ambassadors is to deliver a quality basketball show for their audience. Those who recall the Harlem Globetrotters, do so fondly remembering players like Curly who not only dazzled the audience with his basketball skills but incorporated humor into every aspect of the game.

Members of the Harlem Ambassadors team have all played college basketball at one point in their careers and are all very active in volunteer groups designed to improve their communities.

The Ambassadors are a professional basketball team that travels throughout the United States and internationally in an effort to entertain crowds and to encourage children to stay in school, stay off drugs, get involved in their communities and promote racial harmony.

The team makes it their policy to play in high school or college gyms in order to encourage audience participation. Not only do they play a basketball game, they also seek to include members of the audience in their performances.

The Ambassadors have several lady players on the team and their captain is a woman. In this day and time with many young girls interested in pursuing a career in basketball, the Ambassadors show the girls it is possible to make a living playing basketball.

Another trait of the Ambassadors is their unpredictably. When they travel to Florala, they will actually play against a team from Florala (comprised of players from within the community). This provides more spontaneous humor by including the community in their show.

The Ambassadors boast a tough anti-drug policy and each player is randomly drug tested. This testing is designed to prove the players are drug-free so when they travel into a community and speak to the children about staying off of drugs they have proof they live up to that standard.

The Ambassadors continue the tradition of African-American show basketball where they perform dazzling ball handling, hilarious comedy routines and high flying dunks.

The Harlem Ambassadors are being sponsored by the Tri-City Chamber of Commerce, Inc. and all money raised will go towards the building of a recreation center for area teens.

If anyone would like to sponsor a player, call the Chamber at 858-6252. Tickets are $5.00 in advance and $8.00 at the door. To purchase tickets in advance, go the Chamber office located in Tyner Station, the Florala Police Department or call Kerry Stewart at 858-2070, Caleb Davidson at 858-3245 or Jan Allred at 858-3342.