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Harlem Ambassadors Local Foes Showing Winning Attitude

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: February 14, 2009

Even in hard times, there are always those willing to contribute to a worthy cause, either with their checkbooks or in sweat equity. The community has come up with both.

At 6:30 p.m. this Tuesday, Feb. 17, the Harlem Ambassadors will be in town to play a fundraising game at Gulf Middle School, 6419 Louisiana Ave.

The Harlem Ambassadors are a "professional show basketball team" that tours the United States and abroad with a tried-and-true comic basketball routine. Many of their engagements are fundraisers.

That is the case with Tuesday's game at the middle school. It will benefit the Women's Resource Center of Tampa Bay, a New Port Richey-based nonprofit organization that provides shelter for displaced women and children while offering guidance to help women break detrimental behavioral patterns.

When Susan Stallard, founder and director of the Women's Resource Center, invited the Ambassadors, she placed the burden on herself of finding 21 local amateur basketball players willing to work hard with full knowledge they will be the designated game-night patsies. Along with the sacrificial players, she had to find sponsors to put up $120 per player.

It only took a little over a week to do. On Tuesday, the team, dubbed the "Some of my Best Friends Hoopsters," met at the Gulf Middle School gym for the first time.

As he prepared to round up the ragtag band of volunteers, co-captain Matt Patterson considered the task at hand: Trying to form some semblance of a team in barely over a week to play a single game - a game that nobody expects or even wants them to win.

"Exactly," Patterson laughed. "I think everyone here knows we're here to have a good time. We'd like to not embarrass ourselves, maybe, but I think everybody realizes it's just going to be a good time for everybody involved."

Patterson figured they had just enough time to get to know one another a little, practice some basics and string together a few plays.

Like Patterson, player Ashley Kelty indicated that as someone who has played basketball all her life, she volunteered for two reasons: It was for a good cause, and it was the rare chance to play against professional level talent.

"It's an honor," Kelty said. "We'll all play hard. We might get dunked on and everything, but it will still be fun. We'll just try to score as many points as we can, and hopefully be glad we scored a few points on a good team."

Besides supplying an opponent for the Ambassadors, Stallard had to supply a referee. The choice, preferably, would be someone who could properly call a game but would understand this game was for laughs and that some of the time the jokes would be on him.

On this count, they found the perfect man for the job, Bob Hamel.

"I've been refereeing for 20 years now," Hamel said. "I was a referee for the Professional Wrestling Alliance, I did All-American Championship Wrestling in Florida, Florida Championship Wrestling, WCW and WWF."

With his experience, he is used to working events that are equal parts athletics and theater. As the referee for an Ambassadors game, he will meet with the team for a briefing on the skits he should expect, including some that will involve him. Hamel smiled at the prospect of being the fall guy.

"I'm always a joker, and at work people are always pulling jokes on me, none of that bothers me at all," Hamel said. "I feel working with the Ambassadors is going to be great experience and a lot of fun." he said.

"I'm looking forward to it," he added.

Advance tickets for the game are $5 for K-12 students, $6 for seniors and $8 for other adults. Tickets are available at the Gulf Middle School front office or by calling Stallard at 727-326-5320.

Tickets at the door will be $6 for students, $10 for adults and $7 for seniors.

Klint Lowry can be reached at 727-815-1067 or klowry@suncoastnews.com.

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