The Fab Five (film)

Previously Mitch Albom had chronicled the Fab Five in a book entitled Fab Five: Basketball, Trash Talk, The American Dream, and Fox Sports had attempted to review the group. The press regarded this as the first complete recounting of the fabled group. Rose describes this film as "almost like the Bible of the Fab Five Story". He notes that they were presented to the world as the embodiment of what was wrong with college sports because they wore revolutionary baggy shorts and black socks and blasted hip-hop music while talking a lot of trash. Forbes notes that the legacy of the quintet, which includes successive appearances in the championship game of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, was overshadowed by the scandal, which necessitated the removal of Final Four banners and vacating of games. It includes commentaries from former Michigan coaches Steve Fisher, Brian Dutcher, and Perry Watson, and rap icons Ice Cube and Chuck D. His production role came through his own company, Three Tier Entertainment. At first, only three of the freshmen started. Although they all played when the season opened on December 2, 1991, against the , they did not all play at the same time until December 7 against and did not start regularly until February 9, 1992. In that first game starting together as a regular unit, the five freshmen accounted for all the team's points in a 74–65 victory against Notre Dame. The film presented the opinions of upperclassmen Eric Riley and James Voskuil when they were replaced by freshmen in the starting lineup. ==Ratings==

ESPN built up the film with nearly a month of previews and promos. The week before the initial broadcast, ESPN aired clips of the film during some of its other programming; they featured the team's feelings about Duke prior to the 1992 championship game. These clips started what would become a national controversy. The film's initial airing established a record as the ratings leader among all ESPN documentaries with a 2.1 rating according to Nielsen Company, surpassing two of the 30 for 30 films, each of which posted a 1.8 rating: Pony Exce$$ (aired December 11, 2010, focusing on SMU football of the 1980s, a decade that culminated in scandal) and The U (aired December 12, 2009, detailing the University of Miami football team in the 1980s and 1990s). The Fab Five aired at 9 p.m. ET, drawing an average of 2,088,000 households and 2,746,000 viewers, both bests among ESPN documentaries; it surpassed the previous high marks set by Pony Exce$$, when it was seen by an average of 1,843,000 homes and 2,517,000 viewers on ESPN. The Fab Five was rebroadcast at 11 p.m. on ESPN2. In excess of 11 million people watched part of the movie on one of the two original national broadcasts on the day of the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament selections. The Fab Five also garnered high TV ratings during their playing days; they were one of the featured teams in both of the two highest rated NCAA Men's Basketball Championship games ever played in terms of households (although not viewers), The film aired almost precisely twenty years after the legendary group was assembled. Pelinka had a cameo in the Fab Five film.⋅ ==Critical review==

The New York Times described the film as a "flashback to a time when baggy basketball shorts, hip-hop music and black shoes were considered controversial and an affront to hoops purists". Among those critical of the racial commentary was Duke player Grant Hill, who was cited in an Associated Press story that ran in major national media outlets. Hill blogged on The New York Times with a response naming a litany of Dukies castigated by Rose's general aspersions. His response was at the top of The New York Times "most-emailed list" for several days and was shared on Facebook by nearly 100,000 people within its first few days. King responded to Hill in The Wall Street Journal. In the midst of the media exchange, the 2011 editions of the teams advanced to meet on March 20 at 2011 NCAA Tournament West Regional in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Time Warner Cable Arena with Duke ranked as a #1 seed and Michigan as an #8 seed. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski did not respond until after both teams were eliminated from the tournament, but he noted that he felt the statements were insulting and gave specific reasons why each of the Fab Five members did not go to Duke. Duke player and Michigan native Shane Battier supported Hill's statements saying, "Maya Angelou couldn’t have written it and expressed it better." The Detroit Free Press' Mark Snyder regarded The Fab Five as a "Warts and all" depiction that was "riveting, brutal in its honesty, realistic in its language and stunning in its archival footage." Nonetheless, some questioned why Webber declined to participate and speculate on various reasons. Another Michigan writer from SB Nation described the film as thorough in its ability to provide the viewer with the answers to natural intrigues such as: "How was the recruiting class assembled? Who pushed for the baggy shorts? The black socks? How did a stodgy University of Michigan culture react to this bold, brash and outspoken team?" He also commended the film on its detail surrounding Chris Webber's infamous timeout in the 1993 NCAA championship. The same reviewer enumerated his five biggest omissions from the film: Michigan athletic director Bill Martin, 1991–92 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team, Michael Talley and Webber. He was also critical of Mitch Albom's involvement with the Fab Five. Rivals.com spoke against the tone of the film, which shows a lack of respect for team values. However, in describing the payment scandal, Webber's related legal problems and the removal of the Fab Five's banners from Crisler Arena, and the infamous timeout gaffe at the end of the 1993 national championship game at the 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament the documentary was considered fearless. All of the Wolverines who took part in the production of the film described how they felt they originated the baggy shorts as a result of Rose's request. Even rapper Ice Cube described his recollection of them as the originators. ==See also==