Flashback to 1992. 5 Freshmen took the world by storm. Long baggy shorts, black socks, cocky attitude, alley-ooping, trash talking and oh yeah, a little game too. You could say the game was re-invented. They played with an urban mindset - a ghetto style of hoops that revolutionized millions of youngsters to come. It was not just dope but it was also marketable. Would there even be an And1 Mix Tour today if the Michigan Fab 5 hadn't pave the way for the generations to come?

      Basketball powerhouses Temple, North Carolina, Ohio State and Cincinnati all fell at their feet in the NCAA Tournament. You could say the revolution WAS televised. Over 21 million people tuned in to see the final showdown with Duke, making it the second-highest ranked basketball game in television history. Basketball fans swarmed to the Michigan Wolverines Fab 5 like no other freshman team in the history of college basketball.

      Rose, Jackson, King, Howard and Webber: five fabulous players, but only one shoe is needed to define them. The first time the team broke out this new pair of Nikes, every kid wondered "what IS that on their feet"? Distinctive, SWOOSHLESS, bold & flashy, nothing like we've ever seen before - much like their game. Make no mistake about it, the Huaraches were the coming-out-party kicks that put them on the map. The Fab 5 even requested Nike to make an all black pair just for them.

      Looking back, the marketing machine of Nike in 1992 boasted that the Huarache (defined as a flat-heeled sandal with an upper of woven leather strips) is a new line of athletic shoes that will perform with only the basic necessity of a shoe. Comfortable, smooth and huggable is what Nike wants you to believe. The elastic inner bootie reminds you of a pair of comfortably fitted socks. The outer structure consist of only what's needed to lock your foot in place, thereby giving you maximum comfort with the least amount of weight. Take a peak at the bottom of the shoes and you will see a simple yet gorgeous design. Traction proved to be highly grippy and more than adequate for your balling needs. If all that you need was a light-weight, breathable, luxurious ride, then this shoe is just about as good as it gets.

     But can a performance basketball shoe really only consist of part sandal and part sock? Unfortunately, shoe technology has changed so much in the past 10 years that this shoe is anything but true performance by today's standards.

     The large cut-outs in the Huarache helps the shoe breath and saves weight but also cuts corners in stability and safety. If you were to roll your ankles, there's practically nothing in the upper area of the shoe that will keep your foot from turning. Keep in mind that the black strap at the ankle area is a piece of thin leather, not an anti-inversion monkey paw you'd expect to find in today's Shox or a lateral stability shell that exists on the Zoom Flight 2k3. The Air Flight Huarache's lack of ankle support is comparable to a modern day luxury car without standardized air bags - it just won't cut it with safety-oriented consumers. The minimalist approach in the uppers also means more slippage when planting your foot and making quick cuts. It's almost like a car suspension with too much body roll - decent for the streets but unable to perform on the track. Sure Nike could have tweaked the performance a bit on the retro, but they choose to leave the shoe alone and we commend them for that.

      For a classic such as the Air Flight Huarache, leaving it true to the original is just exactly what they should've done. (*It's fair to note here that the OG had voilet-purple instead of grey in the middle cut out sockliner area as the only notable change for this colorway).

      Durability is another area where the Huarache tend to fall short by today's standards. The materials used on the upper simply won't last due to the fact it's been pre-cut and constantly stretched out. The plastic pieces on the side and the rear of the shoe gets scuffed pretty easily. This is definitely not a shoe you want to wear outdoors and expect it to last.

      The Air Flight Huarache Retro has been re-released in 4 colorways to date: White/Black/Royal-Blue, White/Black/Varsity-Red, White/Black/Silver and Black/Royal Blue. It retails for around $100 in mostly Footaction & Finishline stores. Surprisingly, even with the relative low price tag, this shoe was not an immediate sell-out as one might think. Perhaps the recent scandals involving Chris Webber and the Michigan Wolverines has hurt the Fab 5 image more than ever. The fact that Michigan has been on probation and will not be eligible for the Big Dance for years to come will mean even less chance for kid's to remember the Fab years (Update: ESPN - Team will be eligible for 2004 Tournament). However, for those of you that do remember that era, the Air Flight Huarache is truly a shoe for the ages - possibly a top 10 shoe of all time in terms of design, inspiration and history.