I got called out for dirty dancing by a Harlem Globetrotter

For Christmas my in-laws got my son 4 tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters. Since he can’t drive, my wife and I got to go and also bring his friend DT. And these were awesome seats! As it would turn out, a little too good…

The Globetrotters are phenomenal athletes and entertainers. There is a lot of flash, but at the heart of it they are very skilled basketball players.

Everything was going fine, we were all having an awesome time, and then I looked up and a Globetrotter was half sitting on my lap, half sitting on my wife’s lap. My Spidey senses started tingling because this particular Globetrotter was named Ant. Ant was the lead guy for all of the antics and he had a microphone on the whole game. Not good.

I thought all was safe when Ant walked away with my wife’s purse. We all (all except my wife) started smiling because we just knew she was going to have to do something. But then I got pulled out there by a man with a huge fro named Moose.

My part was pretty painless other than almost being kissed by Ant and being accused of having skinny jeans on. I. WOULD. NEVER. These were my super, awesome, flexy, action jeans, Then my wife got puled out there and she danced with the Globetrotters and I sighed another sigh of relief because I thought it was over. It was not.

To celebrate my wife and I being married they had us dance in the center of the court in front of the whole, stinking crowd. My vow was that I was not going to be one of those lame people who freezes and just stands there. Go hard or go home.

Ant started saying “JOE!” in an accusing manner and then mimicked my sweet dance moves. It was pretty hilarious (after the fact) and a memory that will definitely last a lifetime.

What’s my point of telling you this whole story? Number one, it is to make you feel better about your life. My phone absolutely blew up during and after the performance. And now I have people come up to me with a knowing smile and say “Nice moves there buddy.”

Mainly I wanted to talk about the Globetrotters. They started in 1926 and have entertained MILLIONS while performing in 120 countries on 6 continents. And they still continue to innovate. They added a 4-point line, they signed their first female player, and they continue to find new and interesting ways to promote their games.

People in the health and fitness world who are successful do the same thing. They have a base of their standard things that work for them. The push, pull, squat, lunge, twist, carry, and hinge exercises. The less processed/fast foods, more vegetables, more lean proteins, more water, less calories from liquids, more fiber, less sugar on the nutrition side.

Just like the Globetrotters keep many of their standard things like the skit I went through, the bucket of confetti trick, messing with the ref, etc… If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.

But like the Globetrotters, successful people add in some new twists into their exercise and nutrition to make it interesting and to stay motivated. If you only do one form of exercise all the time and you feel your motivation starting to wane, try something new! If you’re bored/unmotivated with your nutrition, try something new!

Try a boot camp, Crossfit, Pound class, Zumba, a Barre class, take up martial arts, start running, start hiking, start cycling, lift heavy weights. Try lo carb, intermittent fasting, Paleo, Whole 30. I’m not saying to do these for the rest of your life or even that I agree with all of these things. But YOU may love them! Or hate them. The point is you don’t know until you’ve tried them.

You will be nervous, you will be out of your comfort zone, and it won’t be easy. But you won’t be bored, that is for sure. Never be afraid to try new things. It is how we all continue to grow and stretch ourselves to get better.

You can always come back to what you have been doing. And If you do, it will make you have an appreciation for it that you may have lost.

PS- don’t take up Globetrotter twerking, apparently it is frowned upon.