There are no exceptions to the impact, the Corona crisis has on our day-to-day lives – not even for a basketball legend. Just like everybody else, Dirk Nowitzki has to cut back on social interactions with his friends. But sometimes exploring new avenues can be a blessing. Former NBA superstar Dallas Mavericks discovered a way to meet up with old buddies: At Logged-In-Festival, he is to compete against Nowitzki in a very special UNO-match. For the 41-year old, it’s going to be a sweet return to his basketball roots. When the cards are dealt, there will be three of his old pals waiting for him, namely: Marvin Willoughby, Demond Greene, and Robert Garrett to challenge Nowitzki. Just like back in the 1990s when they shared jerseys’ from former league climber DJK Würzburg as well as the national team ones.“This sure feels like a trip to the past. In the late 90’s Robert, Marvin, Demond and I were the wild ones in Würzburg and spent a lot of time together. I’m stoked we’re about to meet up digitally at Logged-In-Festival, 20 years later to play some UNO. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the guys again”, says Nowitzki. Dirk Nowitzki still lives in the States and will be looking at his screen from Dallas. Garrett will join in from Hawaii, Greene will log in from Munich and Willoughby from Buchholz in Nordheide. The president of national league team Hamburg Towers already has one Logged-In-Festival win to show for from another UNO battle against Michael Fritz (Co-founder of Viva con Agua), so he challenged Nowitzki.“I’m beyond excited! As a group, we haven’t seen each other in years. In regards to that, the Corona crisis has at least one positive aspect after all and we finally get to see each other again. This is going to be a blast and maybe even a little bit like the old days”, Willoughby anticipates“It is a huge honor, that a personality like Dirk Nowitzki joins our movement after such a short time. Meeting up digitally with three of his buddies to play and have fun, absolutely conveys the idea of Logged-In-Festival”, says Sebastian Lampe, Head of Esport at Home United. A small team of the Hamburg developer and the Esport organization Unicorns of Love initiated the project only on March 20th.“We are all ‘locked in’ at the moment and have to refrain from social interaction. All of a sudden, kids can’t see their grandparents anymore and friends aren’t allowed to meet up. The digital world, on the other hand, is open to us and we should recognize the possibilities it holds. We are dedicated to facilitate connecting people across any generation- or society-based obstacles as well as national borders”, so Matthias Linnenbrügger from the Logged-in-festival task force. The airdate of the four basketball legend’s UNO match Nowitzki, Garrett, Greene, and Willoughby, will be announced within the week on the website and all social media of Logged-In-Festival.
