For my belated birthday present Wednesday night, my fiancee hit a home run by taking me to a Harlem Globetrotters game. The ‘Trotters were at the Showare Center in Kent, Wash., a tiny (“intimate”) arena that usually houses the Seattle T-birds minor league hockey team. The Globetrotters annually come to Seattle around my birthday, and between the ages of like eight and 11, my Dad made it a yearly trip to see them play. Going to the game last night brought back that nostalgia and — at least for a couple of hours — I was able to watch a basketball game not like a sportswriter and just have fun.

A few notes:

* Remember Shagari Alleyne, the 7-foot-3 dude who played at Kentucky a couple years back? He’s a Globetrotter, playing under the name “Skyscraper.” When I figured out who he was, I told my fiancee, “Oh man, he’s HORRIBLE,” remembering his UK run that was — ask a Wildcats fan — disappointing to say the least. Skyscraper took part in the little dance routines and some of the on-court jokes, but really his role on the team is to be very tall and catch dunks where he barely has to jump.

* If you’ve ever been to a Globetrotters game, you know there’s one player who is the ringmaster, who’s miked up and orchestrates all the basketball and non-basketball action. If you saw the ‘Trotters during NBA All-Star Weekend, that guy was “Special K” Daley. For this game, it was “Big Easy” Lofton, a 6-foot-9 lefty who played college ball at Southeastern Louisiana. He had the crowd rolling with a perfect blend of jokes and gags appropriate for kids, and just enough adult humor to keep it interesting for the rest of us. And I’m 100 percent sure that Big Easy is a better passer out of the high post than 70 percent of the centers in the NBA, maybe more.

* Chris “Handles” Franklin was there. (The Globetrotters have enough players to split the squad into two parts, simultaneously traveling the world throughout the year. For example, Special K and “Wildcat” Edgerson, who you probably saw at the All-Star Weekend Celebrity Game, weren’t part of the squad I saw last night.) I remember one of my first assignments when I became a full-timer at Dime was to track down every single dunker and alley-ooper from ESPN’s “City Slam” show and interview them; Handles was one of the nicer dudes I talked to, and I’ve rooted for him to make it ever since. He’s not in the NBA or anything, but he’s getting a check and he looks like he’s having more fun than just about anybody on the team. (Kenny “Blenda” Rodriguez, another City Slam alum, is also on the ‘Trotters.)

* You first saw Will “Bull” Bullard in the ’08 NCAA Dunk Contest, when he lost to Sonny Weems but was really the most memorable dunker in the field. Pre-dating Nate Robinson by jumping over multiple guys who were significantly taller than him, Bullard had the Dime office cracking up with some of his, um, flamboyant post-dunk antics. I remember saying back then that — since he barely even got off the bench at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi — his ceiling was either the AND 1 Tour or the Globetrotters. Bull can still fly, and now he even gets to dance to “Y-M-C-A!” every night.

* Then there’s the Washington Generals, the worst pro basketball team on the planet that surprisingly took another L last night. I can’t be sure, but I think their coach was “Sudden” Sam Worthen, a New York playground legend and former NBA player. While the Generals obviously have to play along with the whole ‘Trotters gimmick and let themselves be made fools of, they aren’t terrible ballplayers. I’d imagine if you put them in any rec league in the country they’d make some noise. Maybe. But I’d have to worry about their team chemistry and psyche after losing every game since the day before forever.

* Overall, it was a fun night. The arena was packed with everyone from babies to old folks, and everybody had a good time. About three-fourths of the kids at the game walked out with the famous red, white, blue and yellow Harlem basketballs, and I wonder how many of them didn’t play basketball before but will now take up the sport after last night’s show. I remember being one of those kids, loving the Globetrotters long before I fell in love with the NBA. That’s the best thing about the ‘Trotters to me: No, it’s not “real” ball, and the term “ambassadors of the game” might be played out, but that’s what they are. In terms of creating basketball fans and inspiring future players, it really is the greatest show on the hardwood.