April 18 - The Funky Presidents

From 1968 to 1976, Washington DC'S American Basketball Association franchise was the Washington Presidents, but everybody called them the Funky Presidents, and they were the baddest, flyest, funkiest brothers to ever take the court.
This was the era of short shorts in pro hoops, of the red, white, and blue ABA ball. In a decade of afros, the Funky Presidents brought them to a whole new level, adding an average of four inches to every President's height.
The Funky Presidents played their home games in Washington Coliseum. Suspended from the the rafters of the arena in a section dubbed Mount Funkmore were the retired jerseys of the starting five of the 1971 Championship team: Point guard Roosevelt "Fingers" Lincoln, shooting guard Reggie "Butter" Brooks, small forward Eddie Ford, power forward Cornelius "Boo Boo" Wilkinson, and center "Tiny" Johnny Otis, ABA All-Stars all.
Prior to the singing of the National Anthem, Funky Presidents' general manager James Allen would lead the audience in the Pledge to the Presidents:

I pledge allegiance to the Presidents
of the American Basketball Association
And to the funk for which they stand
One nation under a groove
Undefeatable
With brotherhood and righteousness for all

True fact: Prior to the Presidents' era, there was no rule against wearing sunglasses on the court, but they were outlawed when power forward Willy "Downtown" Jordan wore shades for the entirety of the '74 playoffs.
The Presidents were funky not only on the court, but off. In the early 70s the Funky Presidents released a string of singles for Polydor Records including Get Loose, Funky Butt, Righteous Mutha, Circumlofunkificashun, and 8th Street Grunts, parts 1 & 2, playing all their own instruments. They remain the only pro sports franchise in history whose cheerleaders were also back-up singers.
The Funky Presidents: The only brothers George Clinton ever kicked off the Mother Ship. The reason: the cats were too funky.
In '73 they did a goodwill tour of China. The Presidents' management made up t-shirts for the tour featuring a picture of Mao Tse-tung with an afro and star-shaped sunglasses and the caption, Mao Tse Funk. Chinese customs confiscated the t-shirts, but copies of them pop up on eBay every once in a while.
In '74 the Presidents were slated to join the entourage for Ali and Foreman's Rumble in the Jungle where they were scheduled to play an exhibition match against the Zaire national team; however, at the last minute Zaire President Mobotu Sese Seko refused to grant them visas. The reason? He was worried they would steal his spotlight. Think about that. This was an event that featured, among others, George Foreman, Don King, James Brown, and Mohammed Ali. All of those guys Sese Seko didn't have a problem with. But the Funky Presidents? They would have been too much.
The Funky Presidents' pre-game warm-up soundtrack: Doing it to Death (pts 1 & 2) by the J.B.s, Can You Get to That by Funkadelic, Express Yourself by Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, Superstition by Stevie Wonder, I Wanna Take You Higher by Sly & the Family Stone, Up for the Downstroke by Parliament, Spirit of the Boogie by Kool & the Gang, and The Payback by James Brown.
They traveled to away games in a converted prison bus that they outfitted with Christmas lights and a big plastic jack-o-lantern on the top flanked by two of the gaudiest chandeliers you've ever seen. Small forward Jimmy "Fingers" Dupree and point guard Willy "Flipside" Hammond took turns driving the bus.
The Funky Presidents posted winning seasons every year of their tenure in DC, winning back to back championships in 1970 and 1971. The team folded in 1976 following the merging of the ABA and NBA and the emergence of disco.