The Fab Five

After I watched the recent piece done by ESPN on the Fab Five it got me to thinking about how much those guys meant to Michigan, and also to me. It’s crazy to think that it took place over 15 years ago. To tell you the truth, I don’t remember as much as I thought I did about watching them play. I definitely remember watching the title game and seeing Chris Webber call a timeout he didn’t have and locking myself in my room afterwards because I was so distraught over it. Aside from that it’s all a blur, moment spliced together like a collage that kids put together of their favorite athlete or celebrity. The pictures pasted onto a piece of paper with no beginning or end, no sense of the time of which games I watched, but one great memory.

I was only 10 at the time so it’s understandable how my memory isn’t all there regarding them but I know I they were my team and that brings a great nostalgic feeling. It’s that feeling that made me apply to Michigan and eventually attend school there. I’ve mentioned before and I’ll say it again, sports plays a large role in getting students to schools. There are always reports from schools that win National Championships that there are an increase in applications the following year, which is why the new basketball coach hire is so important. To get back on track, after my memories of the Fab Five and Desmond Howard I told my parents around the time I was a teenager that I would be attending Michigan. Sure it seems natural to someone growing up in Michigan, but definitely not for someone who grew up in Orange County, California not even an hour away from UCLA and USC.

There was something about Michigan that drew me to them. A combination of a lot of factors, the Fab Five, Desmond Howard, the Winged Helmet, Charles Woodson and the 97 National Championship team. Combine that with top notch academics and I don’t think there is another school in the country that can compete with the total package that Michigan has to offer. Kids now are too young to remember the Fab Five and do not realize the tradition of Michigan basketball. There are Michigan fans out there that are ashamed of the Fab Five and want nothing to do with them but I am not among them. Wherever I go, I wear my Michigan gear proudly and the Fab Five is definitely a part of that. Without the Fab Five I may never have gotten to know Michigan and I may not have applied and attended school there. The group of five Freshman in the early 90’s represented Michigan to the fullest and I am proud to know that they are part of the Michigan legacy because without them, I may not be a Michigan alum today.