Today’s NBA: The Sons of Meadowlark

If you’re 35 or older, you probably remember when the Harlem Globetrotters ruled the world.

In the 70s, it seemed like they were everywhere.  Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal were two of the most famous people in the country.  (And if you want evidence, here’s a commercial that Lemon did for Burger King. All I can say is, Ya ka ka ka ka, it’s still funny.  Watch the clip, and you’ll understand.)

But that changed with the 80s and beyond, although of course, the Globetrotters trot on today.  An article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says they’ll play 240 dates this year, and after 83 years in existence, that’s a tribute to a tremendous amount of staying power.

You might think of them as an early Live 2.0 organization because they’ve been doing a lot of things right for a long time.

First, they’re iconic.  They are their own marketing.

Also, they know who they are.  Up until the early 60s, the Globetrotters were a serious, competitive team.  Even Wilt Chamberlain played for them.  But as the NBA got better and better, they couldn’t compete anymore and didn’t try.

Instead, they innovated.  They developed things like the behind the back pass, the between the legs dribble and the alley oop.  Before the Globetrotters did it right, introductions of the starting lineups before the game would have been a pretty straightforward, squaresville affair, with a solemn recitation of names, positions and heights.  The Globetrotters made it a show.

Third, they do everything possible to make the live experience special.  The Globetrotters stick around after every game for a half hour or more and sign autographs.  I’ve watched an army of kids go absolutely bananas wanting to make sure they talk to and get the autograph of every single player.  And it’s not just robotic signing and going through the motions either.  They are joking and interacting with the kids the whole time because you get the very strong sense that they like what they’re doing.  They’re natural clowns who happen to be pretty good ball players.

There is a problem in Globetrotter land, and it’s a result of their success.  Everything the Globetrotters invented has become a part of regular basketball.  The showmanship, the acrobatic moves, and all the rest is now on display nightly in the NBA.  And it’s not being unkind to say that the athletic talent in the NBA is better than it is on the Trotters because the athletic talent in the NBA is better than it is anywhere.

The solution to this problem is another of the Live 2.0 principles:  Always Innovate.  What can the Globetrotters invent next that the world will be copying in a few years?

They’re the clown princes of basketball, but the stadium is big, so the comedy has to be rounded out with some large scale visual excitement.  The confetti bucket trick is still funny, but there’s not enough of that kind of high-payoff hilarity, and there’s too much basketball that looks more or less like a regular NBA game.

I would advise the Globetrotters to think big and think bold.  They’re not constrained by the rules or limits of an actual game, so go crazy.  Innovate!  It’s in the DNA of the organization, and if they can keep doing it, the next 83 years should be a cinch.

(Full disclosure:  the Globetrotters have appeared on the Goldstar site a number of times though they were not consulted for this posting in any way.)