Fab Five Reunion: Will Chris Webber Attend NCAA Tournament Final?
By Josh Sanchez
The big question leading up to the 2013 NCAA Tournament final between the Louisville Cardinals and Michigan Wolverines is whether or not Chris Webber will attend the game to reunite with his Fab Five teammates as they watch Michigan play in their first national title game since the star-studded squad made a run of their own in the early ’90’s,
Webber has tried his best to distance himself from the Fab Five after the infamous moment when he called a timeout that the Wolverines didn’t have, which ultimately ended any chance they had of winning the 1993 title game.
Webber, along with Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King captured the imagination of sports fans during their time together as the Fab Five and transcended the sport and changed the face of college basketball with their attitude and style.
Four of the members plan to attend the national title game and reunite while Michigan looks for their first championship since 1989, but Webber is the lone player that doesn’t plan to attend.
It’s a shame. It’s selfish. He needs to attend.
Even Webber’s college teammate, Jalen Rose, called for Webber to join the rest of the Fab Five in Atlanta and get over his unfortunate mistake and move forward.
“It’s almost like a flagrant omission if he decides not to come,” Rose said on his podcast with ESPN colleague Bill Simons.
“I think he wants to disassociate himself with that moment, that school and, in theory, with us to rebuild his life mentally to say, ‘my career really started my rookie year in the NBA,'” Rose told Simmons. “But that’s not really how it works. It’s sad, it’s unfortunate.”
Webber currently lives in Atlanta, the home of the Final Four, and it would be a shame if he chose not to attend.
Of course, Webber doesn’t owe anything to anyone, but he should be the bigger man and show up for the school, for history, and for his former teammates. The Fab Five was a family. They were rock stars, and they were much more than one missed time out. It’s time for Webber to realize that and appreciate what he had as a member of the most popular group of college players that we have seen.
Will Webber attend the tournament final? Should he be there for the Fab Five reunion? I think the clear answer is yes, but share your thoughts with us by sounding off in the comments section and let us know if you want to see C-Web in the Georgia Dome when Louisville takes on Michigan.