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The 31st of March 1997 saw the birth of a new squad called SLAM NATION.
Their first 'flight' was for Tourcoing, city which would witness the group's take off.
Back to the context : MEDJANA and N'DIAYE asked for a 'cease-fire' between the dunkers. They told them to forget about individual contests and marks, and to try to learn to 'fly' together. They'd dunk all together from now on for the SLAM NATION.
The first squad was composed of : Abdoulaye BAMBA, Kadour ZIANI, Michael HADIRI, Nasser SOULE, Gilles TIRILLY and Salomon SAMI.
The dunkers had the opportunity to show their skills any way they wanted to. No contest stress, no fear of missing a dunk without a chance to try again, no marks... what a relief!
It was all about having fun now, and entertainment, just like regular practices.
They could express themselves freely, worrying only about being as good as MEDJANA and N'DIAYE hoped they'd be.
The squad showed solidarity and humanity, and communicated their enthusiasm to the young spectators from Lille and its vicinity.
The event in Tourcoing was the International Tournament of the 'Jeune Garde de Tourcoing'. Among the teams playing in the tournament, were The Gauchos from the Bronx, NYC, where talented NBA players had played , such as Stephon MARBURY or Felipe LOPEZ, who both came to the tournament a few years before.
Upon the dunkers' arrival on Friday night, many young kids were already looking for them; all of them had heard about an incredible Slam Dunk contest which had taken place not long ago, not far away. All those French kids were looking forward to seeing the US dunking supremacy legend disappear. Moreover, the French dream could become reality 'at home' in Tourcoing.
Everyone in France considered the SLAM NATION as the group composed of the world's best dunkers.
That first show was THE test. The dunkers were going to be looked upon as dunk heroes, representing the entire French basketball family. The SLAM NATION was there to symbolise the legacy transfer from the USA to France.
This was so certain for the kids that some of them spent their week telling the players from The Gauchos about BAMBA and ZIANI's feats.
They acted as though they wanted to let the Americans know that the best dunkers were from France, not from the USA, and in Tourcoing for their FIRST event.
The US players listened but got sKeptical, hearing about all those crazy dunks.
So, it was no surprise to see them hanging around the different games to figure out who those guys were. After hearing so many amazing stories about the dunks the SLAM NATION could provide, the US players started talking with the French dunkers and finally negotiated to attend their training.
So, they came... and saw : BAMBA's cartwheel, ZIANI's free-throw line dunk...
They went back to the same hotel the SLAM NATION was staying at, for once.
It goes without saying, on the day of the event, all the American players were next to the court, recording the show and all the dunks on VCRs, for the world's SLAM NATION premiere.
TIRILLY, the only white dunker, seen many times spotlighted, dunked over 4 people standing up. HADIRI, a talented 17 year-old player from Evreux, , dunked over 3 people with a smooth windmill.
But they all dunked like crazy, took turns, in front of an electrified, mad attendance of 3500 people, most of them kids.
It was sure tough for the poor rim, suffering tomahawks from the powerful SOULE. Those 6 incredible dunkers were the SLAM NATION's pioneers.
