Be our Valentine, Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin is everywhere.

The sports world's newest star, one of only a handful of successful Asian-American NBA players, has risen to absolute stardom in just one week, after being overlooked by many teams in the league. He's off to the hottest start of any NBA player in their first five games, during which he has led the Knicks to a perfect 5-0 record. His hot start includes a 38 point game against the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant, of all people. Yes, Jeremy Lin is everywhere, from replays on TV, to blogs like this one, to Sportscenter Top Plays, hes even been the butt of a few racist jokes( courtesy of Ball Don't Lie). Lin was a star in college, but since he played for Harvard, more credit was given to his academics than his basketball skills. Make no mistake however, Lin can and has balled with the best of them.

       Got my Doctorate in Dunking. 

Given Lin's meteoric, though short rise, I'm not surprised that he has gathered a lot of attention. Lots of guys can put up the numbers he does, and they frequently do. So whats the big deal? Well, Lin is Asian-American, which is unusual in the NBA but also very good for the league. His success thus far will help to promote more of a global market for the NBA, as it is highly likely the Chinese market will embrace Lin as they did Yao Ming when he was the most successful player of Asian descent.  He took harsh criticism from Kobe, wasn't intimidated, and even outplayed Kobe, scoring 38 on the Lake show as his team ran past them at home. He does all this on the biggest stay in basketball, Madison Square Garden, a place that has seen its fair share of ballers. 

So whats the point of this post? Unless you live under a rock, don't watch sports, or have been missing Sportscenter to watch the Walking Dead Marathon, then you probably have already heard of Jeremy Lin. The point is that he has become America's newest spotlight athlete, a great feel good story that is quickly becoming a huge media event. Lin is the Tim Tebow of the NBA, a like able player who earned everything he was given in this league. America loves a poster boy athlete, and with the Tim Tebow hype on temporary offseason lockdown, they've found a replacement.  As a society, we love to love the underdog, the small guy, the hard worker instead of the talented egotistical athletes. We love the gym rats, the Rudy's, the guys and girls that never say no. Tim Tebow is that guy. Jeremy Lin is that guy. We love the athletes who can perform well and be the hero and be humble about it, but we praise their ability to be something other than an athlete, something better. Lin has already said that Tebow is his role model, to which Tebow would probably say something like "Well I don't know why, I haven't done anything important."THAT is why we love these guys.  

I'm a lover, not a fighter.