Professional sports came to West New York last week when New Jersey Nets players Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson and Lucious Harris visited St. Joseph’s of the Palisades School in West New York for a pep rally.
The rally was held to honor the school for collecting the most NBA All-Star ballots in the state. The ballots were part of a contest the Nets ran in which they sent ballots to certain schools to see who could fill out the most.
The event was emceed by Nets radio announcer Chris Carrino, and comic relief was provided by the Nets’ mascot, Sly.
Also providing entertainment were the St. Joseph’s Cheerleaders, a troupe of 20 or so female students decked out in rather slinky black dance outfits. Also on hand were the New Jersey Nets dancers, who came out doing backflips and immediately began throwing Nets t-shirts to the screaming crowd. The dancers were greeted by hoots and hollers, but the crowd was eagerly anticipating the arrival of the three players.
Forward Richard Jefferson was the first to arrive as the other two players were stuck in traffic. And in true “the show must go on” style, the ex- Houston Rocket came out to thunderous applause and spent the next five minutes with a wireless microphone, slapping hands, giving high fives, sitting with different groups of students.
Jefferson worked hard to break down the “I’m famous; you’re not” wall, appearing to be completely natural at working a crowd. Well-spoken and gregarious, Jefferson most certainly has a public appearance career ahead of him after his NBA days are at an end.
Harris and Martin arrived moments later. The crowd erupted at the sight of Martin, who is arguably the Nets’ second most popular player, aside from guard Jason Kidd. Martin is also the Nets’ resident bad boy, covered in tattoos and known to show his emotions while playing.
The players made their way across the gymnasium floor and took their seats, fittingly, under a basketball hoop. Emcee Carrino asked the players what they thought could help the students achieve their dreams, even if that maybe didn’t include NBA glory.
The soft-spoken Martin said simply, “Hard work pays off. Listen to your parents, work hard and stay out of trouble.” Sage words from a veteran trouble-maker.
Groups of students were permitted to come up to the podium and ask the players questions. One student, Mike Fernandez, earned “ooohs” and “ahhhs” when he asked the players what it was like to play with Jason Kidd.
The players laughed and earned applause by universally praising their teammate. Said Martin, “Playing with Jason [Kidd] makes my job easier.
A student named Connie inquired of the players, “All the girls and I want to know – boxers or briefs?” The scene became somewhat surreal at this point, as Martin and Jefferson both pulled their waistbands out and looked mockingly down their pants. This drove some female members of the audience into fits of laughter and giddiness.
As St. Joseph’s is a Catholic school, the looks on the faces of the various clergy indicated subtle reproach. The question was not answered.
Another student asked the players what the best part of playing in the NBA was. Martin replied, “I like my paycheck. It feels good to be able to take care of my family.”
One student from each grade (9 through 12) was chosen randomly to win tickets to future Nets games. And one student, 10th grader Ceasar Marquez, went simply crazy when his name was called. He ran toward Sly, the Nets mascot, collected a hug and the tickets, then ran over to the players, hugging each one.
Just when the crowd thought the presentation was over, Marquez broke into a shuffling, hip-hop style dance directly in front of the players. He then ran toward Sly, who was lying on the floor, and did a baseball-style slide right into the mascot.
Said Maruqez after the game, “K-Mart [Kenyon Martin] is the man!”