Fab Five Brand
I suggest that the Fab Five or M brand themselves and incorporate it into our basketball gear. North Carolina / Nike provided the model with the Jordan logo on their uniforms.
How awesome would it be for our unis to pay homage to "our" players that revolutionized the game? I for one would sport that gear. Part of the proceeds could go toward scholarships or all the good work being done by Jalen, Jimmy, Ray, etc. as see on the documentary.
Come on Jalen make it happen!
Great film BTW.
March 14th, 2011 at 12:07 AM ^
now that you say it, Im surprised they havent already.
Really?
March 14th, 2011 at 12:09 AM ^
Although I think it's a good idea and I would be all for it, I doubt the school would agree to honor a team that according to school records doesn't even exist.
March 14th, 2011 at 12:25 AM ^
agreed , that's why we haven't already. Interesting to hear Brandon say that Webber must sincerely apologize in order to be brought back into fold. Man I want some of those awesome early 90's warm-ups though!
Considering my earliest UM memories are of Charles Woodson, what do some of you older fans think of the Fab Five Doc?
March 14th, 2011 at 12:32 AM ^
I have a pretty poor memory of most of my childhood (read into that what you will), but I distinctly remember that 1993 NC game (I was almost 9 at the time). I have no idea how exactly I got started being a Michigan fan growing up in Indiana, especially since nobody in my family had a connection to the school. But I was a big fan before the Fab 5 and that loss was so soul crushing.
Overall I thought the doc was extremely well done, with good commentary from the members willing to participate. Being so young when they were freshmen, I didn't know much about the whole Fab 5 recruiting process, so that was really interesting to me. I also didn't know the story about people from the bench calling for the TO vs. UNC either. I have a little more sympathy for him around that decision, especially because I've made some dumb decisions in HS sports because of comments from fans by the bench that I thought were teammates at the time. All in all, it was a really informative and gripping doc imo.
The documentary was well done and brings back a lot of memories (I graduated in 1994, so I was a student for the three main years of the Fab Five). One thing that was lacking was how crazy the students were for the team during those years.
There was a lot discussed about the racist letters from certain alums (which I had not heard previously, but isn't surprising). But the only mention about the student/fan support was to mention Crisler being raucus for the 1991 Duke game. (Crisler that day was the loudest arena I could imagine. It was painful how loud it was. Braylonfest 2004, The Game 1997, ND 2009 don't come close.) There were a lot of students that believed that Michigan was a basketball school, no longer a football school.
What I wasn't aware of until the documentary was the amount of interest the outside world took in the Fab Five. Being at Michigan, it occuring before wide use of the internet, and getting most of my news from the Daily, it seemed like this was just a Michigan thing. I had no idea that it was so broadly pervasive.
And I think that I speak for many alums/fans my age when I say that my memories of the Fab Five are among the most conflicting set of memories that I have. They were incredible to watch, I had great memories from events around games, but ultimately, the damage that Martin, Webber and Fisher did to the program still linger. And given that, I can't see the Athletic Department ever going ahead with branding the name in the future.
March 14th, 2011 at 12:13 AM ^
And I know we have some sick graphic designers on here that could come up with a Fab Five logo too. Somebody send the bat signal out for Six Zero, Monumental, and the crew!
March 14th, 2011 at 12:59 AM ^
It was worn proudly tonight: http://www.zazzle.com/fab_five_t_shirt-235658740172422423
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March 14th, 2011 at 12:21 AM ^
The Fab Five stood for everything the administration didn't and still doesn't. There is no way they would use a logo that has anything to do with the Fab Five to represent the University of Michigan.
March 14th, 2011 at 12:24 AM ^
It is possible that Michigan's deal with the NCAA prohibits anything like branding the "Fab Five"? I wonder what the terms were and whether any prohibitions expire after a period of time. (I saw some reference on another thread in the last few weeks to an expiration date coming up.)
Can anyone here share some insight on the specifics of the prohibition.
I was surprised that Michigan was marketing "Fab Five" crap back in the early 90s (or was it just Nike running wild?). I can see where the resentment came from when the players watched people profiting off them so blatently. I'm still for amature althetics, but I think over branding (maybe any branding) is inconsistent with that, especially using the athletes' names, their fashion, etc.
Meanwhile, I the Fab Five documentary is incredibly good. (Only 1:15 into it so far. Love the DVR.)
March 14th, 2011 at 12:30 AM ^
And the separation part of the agreement, we can't associate ourselves as a University with the Fab Five until 2013.
March 14th, 2011 at 12:53 AM ^
Does the fact that Mary Sue and Brandon were in that documentary affect anything?
I think it means that we're open to repairing the damage at least.
March 14th, 2011 at 12:32 AM ^
Is trending huge on Twitter. He has just earned alot of new fans for keeping it real in the Fab5 doc.
I've always liked Jalen but I was extremely impressed with his candor and sincerity in the documentary. Seems like a genuinely good dude and is a very likeable person.
March 14th, 2011 at 12:32 AM ^
Let's get Six Zero on a logo ASAP. He's got two years to figure one out.
I wouldnt be shocked if the Squad were reppin black socks and shoes.
That would be awesome.
I hope we come out in the Maize unis Friday at least.
March 14th, 2011 at 11:24 PM ^
We have a few times this year (including in the BTT).
Wow, I'll represent some of the older fans. I was a student from 88-93 so I saw the whole thing on Campus.
A Fab Five brand? Jesus Tap Dancing Christ! Are you serious. No, no Fab Five Brand, no Fab Five anything. Let's stay as far away from that crap as possible. We're not, just now starting to come out of the desert of an outcome that was the Fab Five and the other "wonderful" recruits.
We tut tut the MSU players for being thugs. What the hell were those guys? We can't have it both ways. I didn't see the whole movie last night, but do we remember when Juwan rubbed his ass on the "S" at MSU? Wow, stay classy Wolverines, stay classy. We laugh at OSU for trading unis for tats. Wow, C-Webb a quarter mil. and Jalen, 30K, wow stay classy Wolverines, stay classy.
No, no fab five. Michigan is better than that. I hope we're better than that.
Of the day award to you sir
Hey thanks alot! But I hope Sir that you never post that you think the Spartans are thugs or that OSU is wrong with unis for Tats cuz, between Howard, Webber and Rose we can't really say boo about a few things like that.
I on the other hand think that those gentleman were way out of control.
PS to the gentleman below... I don't have a problem with players having Tats, I have a problem with players not acting with some class. Rubbing your butt on the Spartan S? That's not classy that's crap. I don't mind talking on the court to some amount. As noted I don't give a rip roaring hell about tats, (I just mentioned the OSU tats for unis in comparision to over $250,000 for Webber and Rose)
So if that makes me a dipshit, well I'll take it and run with it. Just please Mr. Hogan and Mr. Huma don't make any negative comments on others not acting classy or taking inappropriate benefits if you both think that we should have a "Fab Five" brand.
March 14th, 2011 at 10:08 AM ^
you're obviously a Spartan fan coming on here to try to tut-tut yourself. very few Michigan fans remember the butt wipe compared to MSU fans, let alone handily bringing it up with zero reference point.
keep it classy RCMB
March 14th, 2011 at 11:30 AM ^
No Geaux, I'm actually a U of M grad, class of 93. I lived in Bursley 2nd floor Hamilton for 2 years, then Ziwet house Baits for 3 years. I was a member of the U of M marching band under Eric Becker. I enjoyed it when we went and played for the football team during our "hell weeK" and then Bo spoke to us after we played. I played in the band that welcomed back the 89 national champions at Crisler. I was awed when Bo brought the football team in from Spring Practice into Crisler and the players in pads kneeled down in the rows. They were doing it so people could see but it still looked really cool. I graduated with a degree in Economics that I'm damn proud of.
I was there when Desmond caught the pass on 4th down, sitting near the 25 yard line on same end of the field opposite side (since that was where students sat back then). I was there in 1990 when Desmond was tripped in the end zone sitting on the 10 yard line.
So no I'm not an MSU slappy. I hate the g-damn Spartans and the angry midget, the great Saint Dantonio and everything else to do with that hole in E. Lansing. I've loved the U of M since I was about 5 years of age. Hell I remember listening to the football games with Ufer on a crappy little transitor radio. However I know that if you don't wish to believe me you'll call bullshit on what I typed. So be it. Have a good one.
Whats wrong with them looking like thugs and having tats? Your comments sound an awful lot like some of the hate mail the players got. I was shocked to see the level of intolerance from Michigan fans -- I really thought we were better than that.
The Fab Five played like a bunch of kids who grew up in predominantly poor neighborhoods. They acted the way that they did because they were young and they were just being who they were at that time.
Jalen Rose was a trash talking summa bitch. He was cocky, brash, and he did things like wipe his ass on the MSU "S" because he was 19 years old and felt invincible. They were kids who loved playing with each other and just wanted to have fun. Im all for class and we could argue all day about how they might have represented Michigan back then but what about now? These guys seem to show a hell of a lot of class now. They have grown up and become solid men. Where they punks back then? Yeah. But who isnt a punk at 18-19 years old.
I am all for a Fab Five reunion and bringing some kind of recognition to the team for their accomplishments. Chris Webber needs to apologize for lying before I would openly accept him back but if he does that then I say bring them all back and lets start to recognize the amazing contributions these players made to the game of basketball.
I think every Michigan fan should be proud of these 5 boys who changed everything about the culture of college basketball. I think Michigan should embrace the legacy of the greatest 5 Freshmen to ever be assembled.
March 14th, 2011 at 10:59 AM ^
I like the idea. I bet they could make a sillohette of 5 players huddled in a circle and make it look pretty slick.
March 14th, 2011 at 11:18 AM ^
and buy it. But I think theres no chance in hell that will ever happen. I just hope C-Webb is welcomed back one day,.
March 14th, 2011 at 11:50 AM ^
You'd have to compensate the Fab Five if you did this or you'd be doing exactly what got them pissed off about being exploited.
March 14th, 2011 at 11:19 PM ^
Your blaming the best five freshman together just because they took money. Everyone on that team (excluding C-Webb) either admited they took money or didn't take money at all. I also don't think that the timeout was so bad on Chris. If you get mad at Chris for that you obviously havn't been in a very high presure situation. They said that someone told him to take a timeout so without thinking it through he did. It cost Michigan there chance but its not like they were winning anyways they still needed to make a shot to win the game. I really don't see why people would hate the Fab-Five. They brought in the new style of basketball. Hats off to them.
GO BLUE, beat the Vols.
March 14th, 2011 at 11:26 PM ^
Speaking of which, why did the NCAA decide to allow the apparel companies to put their brand logo on the front of the basketball jerseys this year? They never did before (though they obviously have in football). It's weird that the NBA/NFL are stricter about that than college is.