Agreed, but the kids and the ladies love it so we don't have a choice.
I watched about 5 minutes, and it was not because it was a clemmy. I just thought it was silly and stupid,
I understand all that, and still don't like them. Just not my thing.
I have only watched a few highlights but my son told me the final results of these games are not staged / pre-derermined. Not sure if my son is correct, but the Globetrotters results were predetermined from what I can remember.
The Washington Generals would actually win one every now and then.
I have heard it was a lot of fun. The only negatives I hear are from a few Clemson fans upset that they ran down the hill.
They are in the "Banana Ball Championship League" which is made up of 6 teams that travel around playing each other. There are a total of 60 games in a season and a lot of them are played at different venues than the teams home field. For example, the Savannah team only plays 8 games in Savannah for the whole season. There are also different rules than the rules for regular baseball for Banana ball games.
I had never even heard of these guys until this thread, but now I kind of want to see it. lol
I can't argue with that. I'm often reminded of that when I see what the big movie box office winners were over the weekend.
I doubt the Globetrooter games are scripted down to the exact final score. But yes, it's probably predetermined that they win by a few points.
Like so many sports, TV has pretty well ruined baseball in the name of "speeding up the game", which translates to "more commercial time in the broadcast". I can live with the pitch clock since some pitchers worked so slow they were maddening to watch. The video reviews have taken away one of the great things about baseball, controversy and the human element. Robo umps would be the end of it for me.
If you have a relatively young family, you are a bananas fan for the most part. If not, it's 50-50. Kids love them.
I am also an old school baseball fan. I actually liked some of the changes to speed up the game. I do like the DH in the NL, pitchers don't even have to bat in high school. I love the pitch clock, that easily shaves 30 minutes off a game. Two pick off attempts before a balk is good, I recall seeing 8-10 on one baserunner. The ghost runner in extra innings is also good. The last one being said, I wish they would bring that over to the playoffs. Just like the NHL and their playoff overtime rule.
I grew up in SC trying to get Yankees games on AM radio in the evening. BEST way to take in a game by far.
I remember my grandfather sitting in the backyard on Sunday afternoons in one of those old aluminum folding chairs with the green and white webbing listening to Braves games on a little pocket transistor radio. To this day, the sound of a baseball game on the radio reminds me of him and being at my grandparents house in the Summer. This would have been shortly after the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966.
Had I been at that game, I would have stood up and cheered!According to WIki, the generals have only won 3 times
the team's official website reports having three victories over the Globetrotters, one each in 1954, 1958 and 1971
The 1971 game is the most famous
Playing as the New Jersey Reds, they won 100–99 on January 5, 1971, in Martin TN ending their 2,495-game losing streak. Klotz credits the overtime win to a guard named Eddie Mahar, who was team captain. Harlem's captain, Curly Neal, did not play in this game.
While the Globetrotters were entertaining the crowd that day, they lost track of the game and the score. They found themselves down 12 points with two minutes left to go. Forced to play normal basketball, the Globetrotters rallied but could not recover.
The Reds secured their victory when the 50-year-old Klotz hit the winning basket with seconds left. Then, Meadowlark Lemon missed a shot that would have given the game back to the Globetrotters. The timekeeper tried to stop the clock but could not. When the final buzzer sounded, the crowd was dumbfounded and disappointed. Klotz described the fans' reaction: "They looked at us like we killed Santa Claus"
