With the football season over, my focus turns to hockey. The Sharks are playing pretty average as of late, so you can just say that I've been bored at the lack of intriguing sports stories floating around right now. College basketball doesn't really get interesting for me until March. Soccer doesn't interest me unless the US is playing or it's the FIFA World Cup. The NBA doesn't interest me - well, ever. Until last week that is.
Last week is when I heard about Jeremy Lin. Unlike most people, I knew who Lin was. I remember reading a Sports Illustrated article about him when he was the star of the Harvard basketball team. I remember his run with the Warriors last year where he played sparingly under one-and-done head coach Keith Smart. I don't remember much else. And then, last week, Lin returned. He had a monstrous game against the New Jersey Nets, exploding for 25 points, going 10-19 with 7 assists as well. He followed that up with a 28-point performance against the Utah Jazz in his first start. Then, against the Wizard, he put up 23 points including a monstrous uncontested dunk that capped his breakout week.
Now, the world is abuzz with talk of Jeremy Lin. Pictures of him are popping up on Facebook. He has made the front page of many newspapers not based in New York. He has become a sensation, much like Tim Tebow was.
Tonight, Lin faces his toughest test yet: the Los Angeles Lakers. Will he be able to produce at the same level that he has the last three games? We'll just have to see.
What intrigues me the most about this story is not the breakout of Jeremy Lin, but the fact that this story has become this big. There are many instances where a player comes up big in a couple games and the media doesn't discuss him endlessly. No. There's something more to the magic of Jeremy Lin.
Of course, this has something to do with the fact that he plays in New York, the largest media market in the US. But there's more to it. Is it because he stepped up when the Knicks were without their two biggest star, Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire (although Lin might've surpassed them in stardom)? Is it because he is the first player of Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA? Is it because he was undrafted out of Harvard? America loves success stories like that.
Whatever it is, the charm is indisputable. The sports world revolves around Jeremy Lin. Next thing you know, he'll be leading the league in jersey sales and people will be making Jeremy Lin jokes modeled after Chuck Norris jokes (When you say, "nobody's perfect," Jeremy Lin takes it as a personal insult). Who knows where this phenomenon will go. We'll just have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, I gotta go catch some of that Lakers-Knicks game before it ends.
Last week is when I heard about Jeremy Lin. Unlike most people, I knew who Lin was. I remember reading a Sports Illustrated article about him when he was the star of the Harvard basketball team. I remember his run with the Warriors last year where he played sparingly under one-and-done head coach Keith Smart. I don't remember much else. And then, last week, Lin returned. He had a monstrous game against the New Jersey Nets, exploding for 25 points, going 10-19 with 7 assists as well. He followed that up with a 28-point performance against the Utah Jazz in his first start. Then, against the Wizard, he put up 23 points including a monstrous uncontested dunk that capped his breakout week.
Now, the world is abuzz with talk of Jeremy Lin. Pictures of him are popping up on Facebook. He has made the front page of many newspapers not based in New York. He has become a sensation, much like Tim Tebow was.
Tonight, Lin faces his toughest test yet: the Los Angeles Lakers. Will he be able to produce at the same level that he has the last three games? We'll just have to see.
What intrigues me the most about this story is not the breakout of Jeremy Lin, but the fact that this story has become this big. There are many instances where a player comes up big in a couple games and the media doesn't discuss him endlessly. No. There's something more to the magic of Jeremy Lin.
Of course, this has something to do with the fact that he plays in New York, the largest media market in the US. But there's more to it. Is it because he stepped up when the Knicks were without their two biggest star, Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire (although Lin might've surpassed them in stardom)? Is it because he is the first player of Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA? Is it because he was undrafted out of Harvard? America loves success stories like that.
Whatever it is, the charm is indisputable. The sports world revolves around Jeremy Lin. Next thing you know, he'll be leading the league in jersey sales and people will be making Jeremy Lin jokes modeled after Chuck Norris jokes (When you say, "nobody's perfect," Jeremy Lin takes it as a personal insult). Who knows where this phenomenon will go. We'll just have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, I gotta go catch some of that Lakers-Knicks game before it ends.
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