Before I went to Michigan, I was a fan. In 1980’s Winnipeg, where I grew up, you had the Jets, the NHL, the Jets, the Blue Bombers, the Blue Jays and Expos, the NFL, the NBA, the Curling Association of Canada, Bison Racing, Moose Polo, the Jets, and college hoops.
And then the Fab Five happened. Even in Winnipeg.
With their baggy shorts and black socks and confidence, the Fab Five made college basketball a major sport and athletic attire a fundamental part of the hip hop wardrobe. (Not that I know squat about hip hop, or that Winnipeg was a hotbed of rap culture, but that’s what I’m told.)
Some people liked them, some didn’t. But you know what? They played basketball like nobody’s business. In an era when Grant Hill stayed in college 4 years, five freshmen starters took their team to the championship game. And they had a fun time doing it with panache. (As for the Ed Martin scandal, well, Michigan has paid more dearly for non-recruiting violations than most schools have for actual recruiting ones.) They were the most tragic, fabulous, and memorable college team, in any sport, of my lifetime.
Today, you have the opportunity to cheer for Tommy Amaker, a coach who graduates his players, behaves with decorum, and isn’t afraid to wear mock turtlenecks in the face of overwhelming opposition. You can root for a university administration that is giving this classy coach time to succeed, despite the win-now-at-all-costs pressure. And you can align yourself with a great tradition and one fighting the odds. You get to be the underdog and the heir to the fortune, the upstart and the legend. What more could you want?
1 comment:
Hell's yes. jvo you have allied yourself with the proper man.
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