For Immediate Release                                                                                                            For more information

Contact Charlotte Sanger at 970-472-1000

csanger@harlemambassadors.com

 

Q & A with Dale Moss

 

 

Dale Moss is the President and General Manager of the Harlem Ambassadors, the touring show basketball team that will be coming to NAME OF CITY for a game to benefit ORGANIZATION.  An experienced sports executive, Moss founded the Harlem Ambassadors in 1998 and oversees the entire operation.  He recently sat down for this Question-and-Answer session.

 

Question:  Before we start, what is the one question about the Harlem Ambassadors that annoys you the most?

 

Moss:  Without a doubt, it’s a question like “Are you affiliated with that other Harlem team?” (laughing) You know, organizationally we don’t say the “G” word.  Sure, there is a long history and a great public awareness of that other team.  But time after time, we get told by fans that have seen both teams that our show is better.  We encourage people to judge for themselves and we emphasize our differences rather than our similarities. In recorded music the scratchy old 78 vinyl records were enjoyable back in the 40’s, but most people today would rather listen to a digital quality CD. Our slogan probably describes it best, “It’s BETTER than your grandfather’s basketball show.” Their team is going into the Hall of Fame this year, just like you might put an old car into a museum.  On the other hand, our vehicle is fresh off the showroom floor!  Our presentation is almost always judged as younger, fresher, livelier, and more fan-friendly.   

 

Perhaps the most obvious difference between the Harlem Ambassadors and that other team mentioned is the fact that the Ambassadors feature a woman player.  As team owner, wasn’t that a bold step by you, featuring a woman with the Harlem Ambassadors?

 

Moss:  Actually it wasn’t bold at all. Ladè Majic was the most talented person for the show player role in our show.  The show player is the player who initiates the comedy routines, goofs with the other team, annoys the referee, and interacts with the fans.  Majic is a natural comedic performer.  Some of the physical comedy stuff I see her do on the court reminds me of legendary comediennes like Carol Burnett or Lucille Ball.  And of course, one of the oldest forms of humor is joking about the differences between men and women.  Having a woman at the middle of all of the fun creates an entirely different comedy dynamic.  But besides being a world-class comedienne, Majic is a world-class basketball player.  Man or woman, she’s the best in her role.

 

You have seen the Harlem Ambassadors grow from 30 regional games the first season to 220 games during this past season.  To what do you attribute this rapid growth?

 

Moss:  Throughout our organization, we have had a commitment to quality.  We seek quality people in our players; we only recruit college-educated, drug-free athletes.  We have a commitment to quality in our show.  We want people to feel as though they received excellent value when they buy a ticket to see the Harlem Ambassadors.  And from our office, we work hard to provide quality to our game organizers, those people with the community organizations that bring us in to perform fundraising events for very important programs.

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What part of the Harlem Ambassadors do you take the most pride in?

 

Moss:  I am extremely proud of our relationship with the United States military.  It’s a program that I have personally had a hand in building up.  I think at last count, we had performed at more than 100 different American bases all over the world.  That kind of makes us the “Bob Hope of the 21st Century”. That includes the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines; we’ve even performed for the Coast Guard in really isolated places like Kodiak, Alaska.  The team has been through the Balkans entertaining our troops in front-line locations in Bosnia and Kosovo.  I didn’t make that trip (laughs), but it is so meaningful to the men and women who are out there.  I have made the trip to Hawaii three times, they love us at Pearl Harbor where we have played in this incredible old arena that hosted Elvis way back in the day.  Our people have toured Korea and Japan each of the last two Decembers.  During that holiday time it means so much for the troops in those deployed areas to get a taste of home with our truly American basketball show.  Last season we also entertained the Marines guarding the captured Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces being held there.  We do more entertainment programs for United States military worldwide than any other entertainment organization.       

 

Where do you find your players?

 

Moss:  Unlike some other team, remember we aren’t saying the “G” word, which seems to be loading up these days with overweight NBA castoffs, we look for the overlooked, talented player who just needs a chance.  A lot of these players went to the smaller NAIA or Division 2 or 3 schools.  They love basketball and might just be an inch or two undersized for their position or one of a thousand other reasons that have left them passed over.  These athletes don’t have the big egos and attitudes that you may see with the Division 1 or the NBA players.  We have some agents contact us about players that previously have been with that other Harlem team.  While the agent thinks that is a positive attribute, we consider it a negative.  We want the player that is hungry, brings a positive attitude, and desires the training we can provide so that the player truly does become an “Ambassador” in the communities we visit.

 

 

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