i'm currently sitting in barnes and noble with the woman working on my upcoming class lecture. (sidebar: at this point in the semester, i can now confidently say that the future of america is not in my intro to soc class). we have plenty of time to kill before we are meeting some folks, so i figured i would blog about something that has been on my mind for a long time.
jeremy lin has taken over the sports world. even those who pay zero attention to sports have heard about this asian basketball player who is slowly taking over the city of new york, the entire NBA, and, frankly, feel-good stories across america.
just last night, SNL gave a politically correct sketch regarding how race has fueled the "lin success" debate.
for those of you who are unfamiliar with his story, lin was a great high school basketball player in california. he had no major division I offers after high school and chose to play basketball for harvard. he was an integral member of the harvard team and led them to some of their most successful seasons in harvard's history.
after going undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft, lin earned a contract with the golden state warriors and spent portions of the next season being signed, cut, waived, and bouncing from various NBA, NBDL, and foreign basketball leagues.
the new york knicks claimed lin off of waivers in late december. after a barrage of injuries to their backcourt, lin was essentially forced to start a few games at point guard. the rest is history. just look at what he did to the raptors a few days ago:
if that doesn't get you excited, just youtube some of his highlights against the lakers. the kid is for real.
unfortunately, racial undertones have fueled the "linsanity" message. headlines such as "amasian" or "the knicks' good fortune" are depressingly intolerant, insensitive, and genuinely take away from one key fact:
jeremy lin is a great basketball player.
that simple statement is what has been lost over the last few weeks. the NBA, its audience, the mass media, and the asian markets (particularly china and taiwan) have become enveloped in a profit-driven, hype-creating atmosphere geared towards re-branding a dying market. the reality is that basketball in new york has been pitiful since allan houston, larry johnson, patrick ewing and cronies stopped setting foot on the hardwood in madison square garden. the reality is that the NBA's profitability has declined and "superstars" are only created in the largest media markets. the reality is that the city of new york was fed up with carmelo anthony and amare stoudemire and their inability to bring a championship to a city that covets a "we-need-results-now" philosophy. the reality is that the NBA found a way to appeal to a much broader (asian) audience to replace millions of dollars in revenue that were lost once yao ming retired. the reality is that we--the general american basketball-watching public--are overwhelmingly upper-middle class, white, suburban, 18-to-49 year-olds who are interested in seeing the unexpected: an asian successfully playing basketball against athletic african americans and giant european/american men. the reality is that we are able to witness a 21st century "feel good" story that writes itself day in and day out: a nerd, an ivy league graduate, an undrafted player, a guy that doesn't fit in, an overnight legend.
we love jeremy lin for all of the wrong reasons. we should love him because he is a damn good basketball player. he has a creative genius that can open his own shots, set up teammates flawlessly, and he has a knack for taking games into his own hands when it is necessary. we should love him because he plays the game in a way that makes his team look better. we should love him because he understands the game in a way that hasn't been mimicked for years.
linsanity is a product of social media, profit-driven ideologies, ignorance, intolerance, and an infatuation with something unexpected. jeremy lin is a product of hard work, perseverance, and opportunity. let's not mix the two. let's not forget what good basketball looks like. let's not label something for what it isn't. let's label it for what it is.
As somebody who has no respect for the NBA and who will only watch March Madness in passing, I enjoy the Lin story. He's somewhat like the opposite of Tebowmania in that he's actually good statistically (instead of winning games despite himself) and he isn't going on and on and on and on about how much he loves his lord and savior.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I doubt I'll watch and more basketball games than I already do, but I'll wish him the best in his career. Plus, the whole "chink in the armor" line really blew me away. I still have no idea how anybody thought that was a good idea to put on ESPN.