Jimmy, Jalen, Ray, Chris, and Juwan: It's not about you anymore
When Michigan rose to #1 in the rankings in February, the speculation began. Would the Fab 5 reuinite in the instance that Michigan made it to the Final Four. The debate was polarizing. Many, including myself, thought it best they stay away to prevent distraction and allow the current team the moment in the sun that they have earned. Others wanted nothing more than the eras to converge and unity to reign eternal.
Last night was glorious. The nation would see a Michigan TEAM. An outfit led by an unassuming coach. A group fueled by an underrecruited sophomore point guard who won all of the trophies. A family strengthened by the emergence of 5 freshman of differing pedigrees, all of whom have been critical during a grueling tournament run. And yet....
They showed up shortly before tip-off, causing a major stir. Rose and King strolled from one sideline to the other and eventually took their seats, just a few feet away from Coleman. Much of the attention on that side of the arena was on them as players were introduced.
At halftime, Rose and King moved to floor level and were available to reporters, doing several interviews. They were doing the same in the locker room (post game) when U-M assistant coach LaVall Jordan gently suggested the four of them retreat to a private room until interviews were over and they could spend some quiet time with the current players.
It was a move that seemed to suit those current players'
Josh Bartelstein has it right:
“I mean, this team is its own team,” Bartelstein said just before the locker room emptied. “The Fab Five are great, but the only thing this team and the Fab Five have in common is they each had five really good freshmen. We’ve made our own legacy. I respect those guys a ton … but this is not their team, by any means.
The Fab 5 still has its legacy. It had its adoration. It had its moment. It is STILL a part of the University's history. But to take any atttention from the current student athletes is shameless. This is the rare moment when Chris Webber played it right - staying away from the media hoarde and watching from an unknown location. Ray, Juwan, Jimmy, but first and foremost Jalen Rose - you could use to learn a bit about fading into the background.
Not sure how I feel about this one. I agree with the spotlight needing to shine on this year's team, but damn if I wasn't happy to see Jalen in his silly wolverine hat madly cheering on as a fan, alum, and supporter. His Michigan pride was on full display, and I was ecstatic to see it. Coach Jordan did the right thing by asking for some locker room privacy, and I'm sure those guys (Rose, King, Howard, Jackson) complied without complaint.
I think we as spectators make the spectacle a bit. News needs an audience: if people really didn't want to hear about the Fab Five, they'd be an afterthought. In the Grantland podcast, I think Jalen had the right idea on doing it to show their support for the players who looked up to them. That may have been construed a bit, but they meant well and I don't think anyone can question their support.
I was at Crisler last night and when they showed Webber on TV the crowd went crazy. I honestly don't understand why. He has done NOTHING to deserve that response. I don't want the Fab Five to be mentioned ever in the same sentence with the 2012-13 team.
Frankly, if you weren't in school at Michigan during the Fab Five era you're not qualified to comment on whether Webber deserves praise or not. Those years were glorious times, glorious. Anyone who was a student back then who says they got nothing out of the Fab Five are liars. It was a great time to be a Michigan Wolverine. So glad to see those times have returned.
I was in school during the Fab Five era.
Webber doesn't deserve praise.
I was a student back then - and I won't say I got nothing out of the Fab Five... I will say I got nothing POSITIVE out of the Fab Five.
I remember those guys rolling around town in cars they obviously couldn't afford - and I remember being embarassed because it was so blatantly obvious Michigan was cheating.
So you didn't celebrate with everybody on South U after Michigan beat Cincinnati? You didn't party on South U the next season after Michigan took down Jamal Mashburn and Kentucky?
Rolling around campus in cars they couldn't afford.....Make? Model?
Yeah, I don't believe you .
Nope, didn't celebrate any of those.
For Juwan Howard -
Make - Geo, Model - Tracker
Rollin' on 20" Dubs and blinged to the max.
Those lucky fucking athletes and their Geo Trackers.
I guess now we know why we didn't get Pryor if that's what we were offering...
He was rolling on rims that cost more than the car I drive.
...the car I drive NOW.
Did you see the receipts? You think a guy taking a bunch of money from a booster is putting it all into rims for his Geo Tracker?
Sorry if I question the credibility of this account. I'm not surprised a story coming from pescadero sounds a bit fishy.
See the receipts for the wheels? No.
Priced 20" wires with low profile tires? Yes.
Seen the receipt for my current car? Yes.
Do I think he was putting ALL his money into rims for his Geo Tracker? Nah - we're only talkin about $5k or so. The rest was probably spent on the bling he was wearing.
A tricked out Geo Tracker?! Whoa, somebody call the NCAA Investigation Committee and reopen the case.
Meanwhile, Jalen was rolling around town in some hand-me-down jalopy that a relative gave him.
Just because an athlete drives a car, doesn't mean the school is cheating. How long was the NCAA investigating Michigan over the Ed Martin affair and found nothing like you describe? Spare me.
"Just because an athlete drives a car, doesn't mean the school is cheating."
Correct... but we WERE cheating.
...and when numerous athletes, from the same team, drive cars there is no way they can afford (as well as jewelry etc.) - they're coming from somewhere.
...and in the case of Michigan and the Fab Five, that somewhere is cheating.
Chris Webber was found guilty of taking illegal benefits. Steve Fisher was found guilty of not having control of who had access to the players in his program. Juwan Howard was found guilty of....nothing. All of this was brought to light years after the Fab Five had left school.
So the notion that you saw Juwan rolling around campus in the early 90's in a Geo Tracker and just "knew" that the program was up to no good is complete and utter bullshit.
It's ok. You can be in denial and rationalize.
Webber is one of my favorite basketball players of all time and that team was one of the most exciting teams of all time. I hardly even care about the whole Ed Martin thing and the more I hear about it the less I blame the players. I love Webber, always will, and was very happy to see him show up even after all the rest of the fab five kept saying in interviews that they didn't think he'd show.
Do you know anything? or are you just trying to sound politically correct. Because you're really coming off as a tool.
I am sick of hearing about the Fab Five. I also didn't watch M basketball when they were around. They were great, sure, but they didn't win anything. Obviously this current team didn't win a conference title (well at least last year they did) or national title, but the Fab Five was twenty years ago.
I still want to kick that mountain boy on Louisville in the balls for draining all of those three pointers.
...that dude is always trying to steal the spotlight.
You mean like stand with their friends in the stands, wear their team colors, cheer in support, root for their team, and maybe wave if the camera gets pointed at them? Like, exactly what they did?
If you want to get angry about the attention the 5 are getting, don't be mad at them. They just wanted to go to a game and root for their team in the most exciting moment this program has experienced in 20 years. They were not hogging spotlight, and the attention paid to them was the same filler that gets paid to parents and other famous alumni during slow moments in game coverage.
You could make a case that Jalen was putting himself in the spotlight, but I think that's an inaccurate assessment as well. The guy has a job as a sports analyst, of course they're going to ask him about this team. What do you want him to do? He could refuse to answer completely, or maybe quit his job, but I think either of those things would have been much more attention grabbing and distracting. And when he did answer, he was very deferential to the current team, and I think he did a great job of keeping the spotlight pointed in the right direction.
Why should they fact like "any other fan"?
They gave their hearts to this team, 20 years ago, and now we are equals?
They inspired the team to lose in the championship game just like they did.
Let's get Glen Rice and Loy Vaught and Terry Mills all together for the next one.
Even Jalen said that the team he looks up to the 89 team. Glen Rice was the man, and his record will never be broken. I would love to see that team next year show up for the final four, when we go again.
...it sounded like the players were glad to have them there, and I'll cede to them.
This is an idiotic rant. If we made the national title game in football next season and Denard and Tom Brady showed up for it, you wouldn't be saying this. No one would pass off fans going "oh, look, it's Denard" as "taking away attention from the current team." No one would chalk up the fact Tom Brady has a mic stuck in his face for a comment after the game as him thinking its all about him. Walking the sidelines before the game? I guess at UTL Steve Everitt was trying to make it all about himself being the first to congratulate Roundtree on the winning touchdown. He probably should've understood it wasn't his time anymore.
This is an asinine post from someone who pretty frequently likes to start "look at me, I have a strong take on the Jim Rome show"-esque posts.
Denard and Brady are loved by the majority, if not all, Michigan fans. The Fab 5 draw mixed responses from Michigan fans.
I think Webber played this situation right, he was there to support the team and let everyone know he was there just not in a very over the top way. The other four, they obviously showed their support by being there, but i think the way Jalen went out to publicly call for a reunion through the media is why prople are upset. Jalen could have simply emailed, called, texted, etc all Fab 5 members and said lets get back together to show support for the team.
Regardless, i am happy to see the Fab 5 were there to support the team.
I think, with all due respect, you just hit the nail right on the head with your first paragraph: Denard/Brady are reverred by all; the Fab Five gets a mixed reaction. When two people doing the exact same thing illicit different responses simply because of who is more popular... well, isn't that the very definition "it's really more about you (and your biases), than them (and their actions)"?
I think, with all due respect, that my biases ARE about their actions.
April 10th, 2013 at 10:32 AM ^
With respect to your freedom to think and mine, your biases ARE about YOU! Get over it!
He didn't call for a reunion "through the media" he was asked about it and he said what he felt, at his job. He is paid to talk on TV about what he thinks. Jalen did do exactly what you suggested re: contacting the Fab5. He's a public figure so his comments got a lot play. Could he have taken the quieter path? Sure, but nothing was lost by it and maybe something was gained. I'd argue the university and program are better off for it.
I was going to put this in my post that it may have been the media blown this "invite" out of the water. Like i said though, i am just happy the Fab 5 were there to support the team last night.
You can't really compare Webber's appearance to Denard or Brady showing up at a football game. All three were tremendous athletes who achieved outstanding success in their respective sports, but only the latter two are class acts who deserve the undying admiration of the fanbase. Webber knowingly violoated NCAA rules for no other reason than his own selfishness, leading to the biggest scandal in University history. Then he purjured himself. Wrongs can be forgiven, certainly, but the dude still hasn't come clean and apologized for what he did.
I agree. I have no problem with them being there and cheering the team on from the crowd, in fact I love it, but they don't need to draw attention to themselves. I don't even mind them talking to the players. I would simply like them to act like any other Michigan alum attending the game ie: Denard, Woodson.
How exactly were they trying to steal the spotlight for themselves? I noticed two moments in game coverage that featured the Fab 5. One of them was the pregame shot of Chris Webber actively avoiding the spotlight so that he could get into the game just to watch and be a fan. The other was a singe shot of the other four in the crowd, just being there and being fans. Seriously, how do you look at Jalen Rose wearing a giant foam wolverine hat and cheering his heart out as "drawing attention" to himself? What did Juwan, Jimmy, or Ray do to draw attention to themselves? Where is this coming from?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing them of taking center stage, I'm just saying in the future I don't want it to happen.
There seems to be a sentiment from a lot of people in this thread (including/especially the OP) that they were drawing too much attention to themselves. I assumed your post was in agreement with that idea, a point on which I appear to have been mistaken. Apologies.
Oh cmon man get over yourself.
I don't think that big of a deal has been made about them being there. I have hardly even seen any quotes from any of them regarding the game or being all together. They have every right to be at that game and if the camera shows them for 3 seconds then so be it. I'd rather see them sitting with fans than Rick Pitino and that grimly appearance of his.
Where exactly did Webber sit?
...suite.
Jalen is awesome and a great ambassador. i don't see him stealing the limelight from the current team. some displaced anger/frustration issues at play here. nothing to see here. carry on.
It's no different than the cameras catching Magic every time he's at an MSU game.
They went to the game to support the school they played for and hopefully see the team finish what they couldn't. If it upsets you to see them and hear them talked about for a very small portion of the game, that's on you, not them.
It's all in the details - not in their presence. Entering when player introductions were occuring. In the locker room giving boisterous interviews when the team was trying to deal with a tough loss.
Funny, I've never heard that Izzo (or one of his assistants) has had to ask Magic to leave the locker room so the team could have some time to console each other.
I once turned up entering an arena right as the National Anthem was playing. I wasn't trying to upstage America.
I wasn't aware that you were a celebrity that would draw the attention of the crowd to the extent that the Fab 5 members did. People in the spotlight need to think things through better than you and I.