Southeastern alumnus and Harlem Globetrotters showman Nate “Big Easy” Lofton recently competed for charity during the Harlem Globetrotters week of the Emmy-nominated television game show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”
Lofton attended Southeastern from 2003 to 2005 and was a two-time All-Southland Conference selection. During his two seasons with Lions basketball, the team won consecutive conference titles and in 2005 made its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. Lofton still lives in his hometown of New Orleans and plans to finish his degree at Southeastern by taking online classes.
He spoke about the differences and similarities between playing for the Lions and playing for the Globetrotters.
“Playing for the Lions was great because it was a stepping stone for me to play for the Globetrotters,” said Lofton. “It’s the same, but it’s different. It’s both competitive basketball, but in the Globetrotters, I get to loosen up a little bit and have some fun.”
This is not Lofton’s first TV appearance. According to his biography on www.harlemglobetrotters.com/team/players, Lofton and fellow Globetrotter Herb “Flight Time” Lang finished in the top four during season 15 of the Emmy Award-winning series “The Amazing Race.” Lofton and Lang also appeared on “The Price is Right,” “The Bonnie Hunt Show” and appeared on the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
Lofton said that both shows were equally fun, but “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” allowed him to relate to his daughters better than “The Amazing Race” did.
“Some of the stuff I did on ‘The Amazing Race’ my daughters couldn’t have done because it was physical, but ‘Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?’ was on the same level as them,” said Lofton.
Some of the questions were harder than Lofton expected them to be, but he did his best while keeping his daughters in mind.
“The most challenging part was just it was all eyes on you,” said Lofton. “You’re there, and you have a time limit on the questions. And I actually have one daughter in the fifth grade and another in the first grade, so I was trying to do well for those two so they wouldn’t make fun of me when I came home.”
Although he couldn’t say how well he did on the show, Lofton was surprised by how much his teammates knew.
“I was actually impressed with the whole team’s intelligence,” said Lofton. “We all attended or graduated from college, but it was new for me to see that the guys I’m always around are very smart.”
The money raised by the Globetrotters on “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, a charity with which the Globetrotters have worked for years to inspire and give hope to children with life-threatening medical conditions.
“We do a lot with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help anyone with anything that’s going on with them,” said Lofton. “It’s very important. To help raise the percentage of finding a cure for any disease would be great, so I’m definitely happy with it.”
Lofton enjoyed being with the studio audience and interacting with the crowd, and said that if he is given the chance to in the future, he would do it again.
“If the opportunity presents itself I will,” said Lofton. “I’ll do anything for charity, and I’m more than happy and willing to represent the Globetrotters and donate to a good cause.”
Lofton’s premiere episode on “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” aired on Monday, Sept. 27. However, several re-airs have been tentatively scheduled. To find out when these re-airs will play, check the local listings for dates, times and station or visit www.5thgradertvshow.com/class-schedule.
This December will mark the beginning of the Globetrotters’ 85th consecutive season of touring the world and Lofton’s sixth season as a Globetrotter.
They will compete in the New Orleans Arena on Feb. 13, 201l, but tickets will not go on sale until October at the earliest. More information about the Harlem Globetrotters can be found by visiting their Web site at www.harlemglobetrotters.com, where one can also sign up to be notified when tickets do go on sale.