By Daniel P. Moynihan
Times Sports Editor
Recurring dreams certainly are not uncommon. In fact, such nocturnal images can plague a person for years. In the case of Mason Gordon, the California native actually decided to recreate his apparition.
Over and over again, he would see two men, apparently athletes, colliding in mid-air for no particular reason. Each time, the image was the same . . . only their athletic uniforms and the moves leading to their aerial encounter were different.
One day, Gordon decided to prop himself at a desk with only a pen, paper, and his thoughts. With the real-life imagery of action-sport athletes vividly etched in his brain, Gordon charted a six-page idea that detailed his concept for a new sport.
Eighteen months later, Gordon’s creation was given a name: SlamBall.
A derivative of basketball, SlamBall combines the excitement of hoops with the physical components of hockey — and there are plenty of trampolines. The second season is slated to begin Aug. 4 on Spike TV, formerly known as The National Network (TNN).
SlamBall’s audience consists primarily of men, ages 18 through 49, indicating that the new sport may not be for everyone. To the contrary, says Gordon, who frequently points out the relationship between the game’s action-sports style and video games.
“What you have is a team sport that combines the best elements of basketball, football, hockey and gymnastics, and then instills this extreme-sport mentality,” Gordon said. “That took me to the idea of a live-action video game. Once it got there, it took on a life of its own.”
Before moving on the SlamBall concept, Gordon had to enlist help getting the project off the ground. He met with Philadelphia native Mike Tollin, who operates the television and movie production firm Tollin/Roberts Production.
Gordon once served as a college intern at Tollin’s production company.
In fact, as Gordon points out, it was Tollin who decided to showcase the sports product on television rather than have the league languish in obscurity in its bid for a fan base.
SlamBall endured hardships before grabbing the public’s attention. Gordon estimates that more than $130,000 was spent in the months leading to the sport’s televised debut last year.
With the help of some friends, Gordon erected his first SlamBall half-court. Despite its primitive appearance — rusty gymnastic springs, recycled plywood and a trampoline — the creation served as a suitable stage for the sport’s initial audition.
Gordon noted that he frequently consulted with physics professors to ensure the court’s safety.
Next, Gordon needed players. He recruited five individuals after combing inner-city basketball courts in search of “prototypical” athletes — fearless athletes willing to play through pain.
Once he assembled enough players, he took his court to area warehouses and recreation centers throughout the Los Angeles area. Despite the overwhelmingly positive feedback that the sport began receiving, the traveling SlamBall games often encountered off-the-court difficulties.
“In some of these warehouses, I would have to sleep there to protect the court, so local gang-bangers wouldn’t take razor blades to the trampolines,” Gordon said. “I had to protect the court, because if they chopped up the court then I’d have to get another one, and the concept would end.”
Once Tollin and Gordon procured a television deal with TNN, they decided to solicit financial help from outside investors. Tollin contacted Pat Croce, who, at the time, had recently resigned as president of the Philadelphia 76ers.
At first, the adventurous Croce — who wasn’t afraid to scale a bridge or water tower to pump up local fans — wasn’t that gung-ho about the SlamBall concept. Today, however, Croce is a SlamBall partner and the game’s most visible spokesman.
“At first I wasn’t really interested. I just wanted to take that summer off and just chill,” Croce recalled.
“Everyone looked like Michael Jordan, and they were killing each other — it was full contact,” he said of the trampoline-soaring SlamBall players. “I thought, ‘Oh my, this looks fabulous!’”
A successful entrepreneur who cultivated local fitness centers into a multimillion-dollar venture, Croce admits that the decision to become a SlamBall partner is, if anything, exciting.
“When you talk about income, you can talk about psychic income and financial income. I think, sometimes, you can do things for the long haul. I’ve got a feeling this is going to pay off in the long run, and that’s where the excitement is,” Croce said. “You’re investing your time, energy and creativity.”
A SlamBall court is 94 feet long and 55 feet wide. An 8-foot Plexiglas wall encases the playing surface. All athletes must wear protective head gear, knee and elbow pads, and even custom-padded undergarments.
Each team has eight players, with four players from each squad competing at all times. Unlike basketball, where players are labeled as guards, centers or forwards, SlamBall position players are called stoppers, handlers and gunners.
Points are recorded by dunks and other various shots. A slam dunk is worth three points, while other offerings net the shooter two points. All games begin with an inverted jump ball, known as a “bounce off.”
Contact is allowed after an offensive player picks up his dribble. Hand-checking also is permitted. But excessive hand-checking can result in a violation.
Players are prohibited from grabbing or holding an opponent.
In its brief history, SlamBall has even developed its own terminology. A “dunk bait” refers to a rookie performer, while a “McNasty” describes a 360-degree, between-the-legs dunk from the outside trampoline.
“This is not something that we have to push on people. It’s not the XFL, when it looked cool but it was a dud,” Croce added. “These are action athletes; they all look and gravitate to something that’s on the edge. This extreme sport is not singular. It’s the first team action sport.”
After SlamBall debuted last August, its TV ratings improved marginally each week. TNN liked what it saw after airing reruns of the six-week season, and in December approved SlamBall for a second season on television.
According to Croce, no official decision has been made to expand SlamBall outside of its Universal Studios home in Hollywood. That doesn’t mean Croce, Gordon and Tollin haven’t discussed setting up camps and clinics around the country to introduce the concept to individuals wary of its validity as an actual sport.
“We’re taking those steps in seeing how we can make this a league where there are teams in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Miami . . . the works,” Croce said. “What we have to do is create a grassroots effort so we can create the technology to drop a SlamBall court in all the twin rinks of America.”
Croce has an idea how that could work.
“Maybe you license it to entrepreneurs in, let’s say, the Philadelphia region . . . they drop (a court) when there is a less use for a twin rink or skating rink, like the summertime,” he said. “We send out our sixty-four players to do camps so the kids can start playing this at a young age. Right now, no one is playing this.” ••
Times sports editor Daniel P. Moynihan can be reached at 215-354-3035 or dmoynihan@phillynews.com