Lin-Senational! How Jeremy Lin has changed the Knicks and the NBA
Nearly two weeks ago on Friday, February 3, the New York Knicks lost their 15th ball game.
A two point loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics was in some weird way an improvement for a team that had shown almost no ability to score on a consistent basis, let alone play a credible defense; New York stood at an abysmal 8-15. Things got so bad for the Knicks, they found themselves in a battle with the other underachieving New York/New Jersey basketball franchise, the Nets, for the booby prize of the Atlantic Division.
The Knicks entered the 2011-2012 season with high hopes. Coming off their best season in years and fueled by the signing of Amar’e Stoudemire and the mid-season acquisition of Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks qualified for the playoffs at 42-40, but, more importantly, had rid themselves of the stench of ten horrific years in PR and salary cap hell thanks to the buffoonery of owner James Dolan and his accomplice, Isiah Thomas.
Nevertheless, to assert that the Knicks would be all the way back would be a gross overstatement. Being a .500 team in New York is not good enough; subsequently, when the Knicks got off to a horrendous start with Stoudemire struggling and Anthony playing the role of the “ball-hog,” the Knicks looked like dead team walking. It would be only a matter of time before Mike D’Antoni paid for the debacle with his job.
Then "Lin" happened.
By now everyone knows the story of Jeremy Lin; to say his feats of late have been nothing but miraculous qualifies as the understatement of the year. But, more important, Lin affected the NBA in a way that no player in the post-1999 lock-out years has (yes, I reach back that far) to snatch fan and media attention away from the NFL and MLB.
In a year where the NBA returned from another nuclear winter, Lin has made fans forget the bitter lockout that almost canceled the season. He has brought fans back to the game faster than anyone could have imagined, and faster than Tim Duncan and the Spurs, and Kobe Bryant and the Lakers did back in 1999 after that lockout.
Everything that NBA Commissioner David Stern wants the NBA to become, Jeremy Lin has magically performed in about a week and a half!
He is more than just a basketball player, and more than the latest hero for the Knicks; Lin has become the cultural and global icon that the league has craved for years. Granted, Lin is a born and raised American, having grown up in California, but his Taiwanese descent makes Lin a marketable face for the league overseas, and what better town to represent that than New York City, the melting pot of the world!
Just check out Lin’s jersey sales. The Knicks website says that Lin jerseys are sold out and won’t be available again until the end of April! NBA.com says that Lin jerseys won’t become available again for another two to three weeks, and forget looking at Modell’s or Dick’s Sporting Goods because those sites proclaim: Sold Out, as well.
In all my years watching professional sports, I have never seen one player become this big, this fast. When Ichiro Suzuki came to the States to play for the Seattle Mariners, his jerseys never sold out the way Lin’s has. Derek Jeter’s jerseys never sold out like this when he made it big in the late 90′s, nor did Alex Rodriguez or Ken Griffey Jr, or Albert Puljos. While people came to the ball park in droves to see these great players play, the home crowd never cheered for the visiting super star the way people seem to do for Lin. Just look at Lin’s three pointer in Toronto when the entire Raptors crowd cheered on the Knicks star.
Lin’s vast popularity in NBA circles is even trumping that of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. While both Bryant and James are two of the most successful players in the league, they are not the most popular. Many dislike Bryant for his perceived arrogance, ball-hawking style, and his poor relationships with the humble Shaquille O’Neal and coach Phil Jackson.
James could have become the next Michael Jordan if he hadn't taken the money and run to Miami last year.
James was the only current NBA superstar, who experienced the kind of wide fanfare that Lin is experiencing now. James was credited with resurrecting a dead Cleveland Cavaliers franchise, was known as a good teammate, and was admired due to his dynamic style of play at a young age which made even the most experienced NBA players look bad by comparison. Remember how James was cheered at the Garden whenever the Cavs came to town? Now those days are gone and James is looked upon as a typical, greedy individual who cared more about money than creating a Jordan-like legacy in Cleveland.
Some have even compared Lin’s national and international popularity to the “Tebow Time” sensation that swept the football world this past NFL season. Tim Tebow’s fan base has grown for several reasons. One: he has beat the odds, much like Lin, winning ball games even though he lacks prototypical quarterback skills. Two: the religious right has grown to love Tebow for his devote Catholic persona as he wears his religion on his sleeve from “Tebowing” to thanking his “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” before every interview.
Yet, the real reason Tebow has become a cult figure has to do, in part, with his loud and vocal detractors. There are lots of people who hate Tebow for his far-Right stance on religion and social issues. People usually do the “Tebow” as a way to mock the quarterback for his religious beliefs. People also hate the fact that a quarterback, who completes only 40 percent of his passes has been so successful so far in his career.
As far as one can tell, Lin doesn’t have those same detractors, at least they are not as pronounced.
Lin is global. His humble, down to earth personality, and his surprising ascent as the leader of the Knicks has taken every fan by storm. While many have been wondering how much longer Linsanity can continue, the young star continues to impress. Even when he was playing some of his worst basketball against the Raptors, Lin still managed to post 27 points and proved to be the deciding factor in the Knicks victory. First time it might have been ascribed to luck, but by now people have to accept the phenomenon as real. Lin IS this good.
He has rescued a franchise that has been dormant for well over a decade, a franchise that once thought Stoudemire and Anthony would be the faces of the franchise; the image of Lin pumping his fist after a big basket that has become the new face of the Knicks franchise. And why not? The Knicks fan who has suffered through so much deserves it, even if it feels like 15 minutes of fame.
Will Lin always make the big shot? No.
With 37 games remaining, it’s not reasonable to think the Knicks will be unbeatable for the rest of the year. They will lose their share of games, and Lin will miss a open shot here and there. Keep in mind, he’s only 23 years old, and he’s still learning how to run an NBA offense; furthermore, he still needs to learn how to kick the ball out to open men, instead of driving to the rim.
But, if the kid can master his relationships with both Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, and the Knicks finish 25-12 down the stretch to get into a competitive playoff series with the Heat or Bulls, then a playoff berth is not out of the question. Who knows? If the Knicks do get into the brackets, maybe Mr. Lin will have another trick or two up his sleeve.
Let Linsanity Live!
A two point loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics was in some weird way an improvement for a team that had shown almost no ability to score on a consistent basis, let alone play a credible defense; New York stood at an abysmal 8-15. Things got so bad for the Knicks, they found themselves in a battle with the other underachieving New York/New Jersey basketball franchise, the Nets, for the booby prize of the Atlantic Division.
The Knicks entered the 2011-2012 season with high hopes. Coming off their best season in years and fueled by the signing of Amar’e Stoudemire and the mid-season acquisition of Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks qualified for the playoffs at 42-40, but, more importantly, had rid themselves of the stench of ten horrific years in PR and salary cap hell thanks to the buffoonery of owner James Dolan and his accomplice, Isiah Thomas.
Nevertheless, to assert that the Knicks would be all the way back would be a gross overstatement. Being a .500 team in New York is not good enough; subsequently, when the Knicks got off to a horrendous start with Stoudemire struggling and Anthony playing the role of the “ball-hog,” the Knicks looked like dead team walking. It would be only a matter of time before Mike D’Antoni paid for the debacle with his job.
Then "Lin" happened.By now everyone knows the story of Jeremy Lin; to say his feats of late have been nothing but miraculous qualifies as the understatement of the year. But, more important, Lin affected the NBA in a way that no player in the post-1999 lock-out years has (yes, I reach back that far) to snatch fan and media attention away from the NFL and MLB.
In a year where the NBA returned from another nuclear winter, Lin has made fans forget the bitter lockout that almost canceled the season. He has brought fans back to the game faster than anyone could have imagined, and faster than Tim Duncan and the Spurs, and Kobe Bryant and the Lakers did back in 1999 after that lockout.
Everything that NBA Commissioner David Stern wants the NBA to become, Jeremy Lin has magically performed in about a week and a half!
He is more than just a basketball player, and more than the latest hero for the Knicks; Lin has become the cultural and global icon that the league has craved for years. Granted, Lin is a born and raised American, having grown up in California, but his Taiwanese descent makes Lin a marketable face for the league overseas, and what better town to represent that than New York City, the melting pot of the world!
Just check out Lin’s jersey sales. The Knicks website says that Lin jerseys are sold out and won’t be available again until the end of April! NBA.com says that Lin jerseys won’t become available again for another two to three weeks, and forget looking at Modell’s or Dick’s Sporting Goods because those sites proclaim: Sold Out, as well.
In all my years watching professional sports, I have never seen one player become this big, this fast. When Ichiro Suzuki came to the States to play for the Seattle Mariners, his jerseys never sold out the way Lin’s has. Derek Jeter’s jerseys never sold out like this when he made it big in the late 90′s, nor did Alex Rodriguez or Ken Griffey Jr, or Albert Puljos. While people came to the ball park in droves to see these great players play, the home crowd never cheered for the visiting super star the way people seem to do for Lin. Just look at Lin’s three pointer in Toronto when the entire Raptors crowd cheered on the Knicks star.
Lin’s vast popularity in NBA circles is even trumping that of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. While both Bryant and James are two of the most successful players in the league, they are not the most popular. Many dislike Bryant for his perceived arrogance, ball-hawking style, and his poor relationships with the humble Shaquille O’Neal and coach Phil Jackson.
James could have become the next Michael Jordan if he hadn't taken the money and run to Miami last year.
James was the only current NBA superstar, who experienced the kind of wide fanfare that Lin is experiencing now. James was credited with resurrecting a dead Cleveland Cavaliers franchise, was known as a good teammate, and was admired due to his dynamic style of play at a young age which made even the most experienced NBA players look bad by comparison. Remember how James was cheered at the Garden whenever the Cavs came to town? Now those days are gone and James is looked upon as a typical, greedy individual who cared more about money than creating a Jordan-like legacy in Cleveland.
Some have even compared Lin’s national and international popularity to the “Tebow Time” sensation that swept the football world this past NFL season. Tim Tebow’s fan base has grown for several reasons. One: he has beat the odds, much like Lin, winning ball games even though he lacks prototypical quarterback skills. Two: the religious right has grown to love Tebow for his devote Catholic persona as he wears his religion on his sleeve from “Tebowing” to thanking his “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” before every interview.
Yet, the real reason Tebow has become a cult figure has to do, in part, with his loud and vocal detractors. There are lots of people who hate Tebow for his far-Right stance on religion and social issues. People usually do the “Tebow” as a way to mock the quarterback for his religious beliefs. People also hate the fact that a quarterback, who completes only 40 percent of his passes has been so successful so far in his career.
As far as one can tell, Lin doesn’t have those same detractors, at least they are not as pronounced.
Lin is global. His humble, down to earth personality, and his surprising ascent as the leader of the Knicks has taken every fan by storm. While many have been wondering how much longer Linsanity can continue, the young star continues to impress. Even when he was playing some of his worst basketball against the Raptors, Lin still managed to post 27 points and proved to be the deciding factor in the Knicks victory. First time it might have been ascribed to luck, but by now people have to accept the phenomenon as real. Lin IS this good.
He has rescued a franchise that has been dormant for well over a decade, a franchise that once thought Stoudemire and Anthony would be the faces of the franchise; the image of Lin pumping his fist after a big basket that has become the new face of the Knicks franchise. And why not? The Knicks fan who has suffered through so much deserves it, even if it feels like 15 minutes of fame.
Will Lin always make the big shot? No.
With 37 games remaining, it’s not reasonable to think the Knicks will be unbeatable for the rest of the year. They will lose their share of games, and Lin will miss a open shot here and there. Keep in mind, he’s only 23 years old, and he’s still learning how to run an NBA offense; furthermore, he still needs to learn how to kick the ball out to open men, instead of driving to the rim.
But, if the kid can master his relationships with both Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, and the Knicks finish 25-12 down the stretch to get into a competitive playoff series with the Heat or Bulls, then a playoff berth is not out of the question. Who knows? If the Knicks do get into the brackets, maybe Mr. Lin will have another trick or two up his sleeve.
Let Linsanity Live!
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