<Show: NPR ALL THINGS CONSIDERED>
<Date: MAY 06, 1998>
<Time: 20:00>
<Tran: 050610np.212>
<Type: PACKAGE>
<Head: Camden Power>
<Sect: News; Domestic>
<Time: 20:50>
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert
Siegel.
NOAH ADAMS, HOST: And I'm Noah Adams.
Tonight, a little-known, semi-professional basketball team called
the Camden Power goes on the road to play in Columbus, Ohio. Camden,
New Jersey's first semi-pro team is in the U.S. Basketball League.
Some people hope the team will bring a dose of optimism to one of
America's most troubled cities.
NPR's Eric Westervelt attended the Power's first home game on
Saturday and has this report.
SOUNDBITE OF BASKETBALL GAME
ERIC WESTERVELT, NPR REPORTER: The turn-out was modest. The
players' uniforms didn't all match. The team rented the gym and their
cheer-leading squad consisted of just two teenage girls in jeans and
colored tops.
But when the Camden Power took the court against the New
Hampshire Thunder Loons, the locals let them know they were welcome.
ANNOUNCER: Number 14 from Philadelphia...
WESTERVELT: Kids in Camden haven't had a lot of home town things
to cheer about lately. Drug-related violence, poverty, teen pregnancy
and joblessness remain staggeringly high here.
It's a city of just 85,000, but with a per capita murder rate
that's one of the highest in the nation. The Camden Power's slogan is
"Power to the People," an attempt, perhaps, to make explicit the
usually unwritten social contracts sports teams have with their
cities, an expectation that they'll offer more than basketball --
perhaps some mentoring, outreach and inspiration to a city whose kids could
use a heavy dose of all three.
Teenagers Lecole Burgess (ph) came with Delia Belcher (ph) and
her mother Pamela (ph).
LECOLE BURGESS, CAMDEN TEENAGER: This is something more
positive, 'cause Camden's -- it ain't never had nothin' positive.
Every time you hear somethin' on the news, it's always somethin' bad.
DELIA BELCHER, CAMDEN TEENAGER: It's a real good thing 'cause it
gets a lot of the kids off the streets and what not.
BURGESS: Somethin' better to do than hanging on the corner.
D. BELCHER: Corner. Yeah.
PAMELA BELCHER, CAMDEN RESIDENT: And they need more role models.
You know what I mean? So, if they see things coming positive into
their community, then I think they'll all start -- you know, trying to
reach out a little bit, you know. Probably cut down on a lot of the
nonsense, you know, around the town, hanging on the corners, or
whatever.
SOUNDBITE OF BASKETBALL GAME
WESTERVELT: But can the Power be counted on for anything more
than a few hours of fun basketball? In the pros, recent on-court fist
fights and off-court exploits with drugs and sex hardly make some of
them role models.
Can minor league players be expected to do any better? Camden
Power owner Chip Mitchell (ph) hopes so. He calls his business, Hoop
City, Inc., a for-profit company with a non-profit consciousness.
Mitchell grew up in a rough section of Camden, where he had
several serious run-ins with the law. That is, he says, until strong
mentors and a love of hoops helped straighten him out. He plans to
get the team into local schools and rec centers as often as possible.
CHIP MITCHELL, OWNER, CAMDEN POWER: We are more than just
basketball. Our whole youth outreach program, which is called Kid
Power, deals with three intangibles -- knowledge is power, information
is power, and economic power.
And if we can get those messages at the age and demographic that
we're targeting, which is seven to 12, I think we can start to make a
difference within the city. It will be a small one and I might not
even see the differences while I'm here, but I think we can at least
lay the foundation.
I'm excited about that. That's really what motivates me and
drives me. It's something that I'm committed to because people did
that for me growing up.
WESTERVELT: The team is comprised largely of obscure former
college players who didn't make the pros, but still hope to some day.
There's something poignant about watching talented players at work,
and knowing that most of them will never realize their dream of
playing in the NBA.
In the USBL's 14-year history, only about 100 players have ever
gone on to the pros.
SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE AT BASKETBALL GAME
In the second half, the Power came on strong. They beat the New
Hampshire Thunder Loons 106 to 92.
It was just a minor league basketball game, just a win, just a
small start. In Camden, though, that's something. |
