On and off the court, the spirit is the same: Corey Law, Thunder for the fans, answers with a smile, he’s nice and recognizes that every time he has to come to our country he enjoys three things: “speak in Spanish, taste the food and dance a lot”. It is also recognized as a great admirer of Lionel Messi, to the point that when he plays on the Playstation he chooses the historical Barcelona of the captain of the Argentine National Team.
The history of the Globetrotters and Argentina dates back to the 50’sLuna Park nights anxiously awaited those skillful and fun brunettes who made something more out of basketball.
One of the many nights at Luna Park. File The Graphic.
In 1924 a group of Chicago players founded the “Savoy Big Five,” a basketball team that put on local skill shows. Everything changed with the appearance of Abe Saperstein who took charge of taking them to another level. He renamed them the Globetrotters and inadvertently created a myth that continues to this day.
The Obelisk as a background for a production of El Gráfico.
Corey Law remembers seeing them for the first time when he was a kid in Madison Wisconsin, and going from seeing them to “playing in front of a lot of people and that is still very special”.
His relationship with basketball began when he was 9 years old. Thunder acknowledges that “wasn’t very good” until between the ages of 12 and 14 he began to take it more seriously. So much so that in his career within the Globetrotters he won 8 Guinness records, including scoring the ball 33.45 meters from the hoop and the farthest shot from behind with 25.5 meters.
The farthest back shot to the hoop, one of his Guinnesses.
The shot from 33.45 meters away.
Not everything is fun, beyond talent there is work, effort and discipline, especially when they are on tour “I usually wake up at 8:00 in the morning, the first thing I do is meditate and listen to some music, I really like dancing and it also gets me moving. Then we have breakfast and wait for the bus that transports us. I really like to dance. It depends on what city we are in, I look for a good cafeteria to drink coffee, I love it”.
Argentina is a country that always welcomes them with open arms and that Thunder likes to enjoy: “I really like the culture, especially the food, which is wonderful. Every time I go I do three things: Speak Spanish -rehearse a clear hello, how are you?-, eat and dance”.
Beyond the fact that in their beginnings the Globertrotter were respected and managed to beat the best teams of the time, when the NBA was formed they were not invited to be part of it, basically because of the team’s style of play.
Sports and entertainment at Luna Park.
There they began to travel and be basketball ambassadors around the world. Time has changed and many of the tricks that were done at that time are still present: “We have been around for a long, long time. And we were before the NBA. We are recognized as innovators of the game of basketball. The 4-point shots, the dribbles you see, Kyrie Irving does, he learned it from the Globetrotters and the long 4-pointers and long 3-pointers that Steph Curry shoots are ours. The “no look” – give a pass the opposite side that the ball goes – also “.
Corey Law’s father was a huge Spurs fan. and sat next to him to see the exploits of a certain Manu Ginobili: “I grew up and watched him play in San Antonio and now he’s about to go into the Hall of Fame. The Argentines have great basketball, I really enjoyed watching them play at the Olympics.”in reference to the golden generation, Olympic champion of the year 2004.
The Luna gala with the Globetrotters.
From 1926 to this day Globersttortes are synonymous with entertainment and permanence, for Corey “Thunder” Law the key is that “We’re always creating new things to make the game fun and enjoyable to watch, and that’s what keeps us going. Like I said, you don’t have to be a basketball fan to enjoy the Globetrotters and you don’t have to be an adult or a 9 or 90 year old, it doesn’t matter if you like basketball or not, it’s all about fun family entertainment. And that’s what keeps us going.”
Reason is not lacking, after 96 years of life they continue to amuse and amaze the world with a ball, a lot of skill and originality, showing that the Globetrotters are much more than a sport.
COVER PHOTO: Ethan Miller / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
