You may have thought I did a typo with the title ,but this is no typo. This is about the new global phenom Jeremy Lin. I am sports fanatic and the name Jeremy Lin would have left me clueless a month ago.
Jeremy story is so unique some may say its only a dream. He is the first asian-american to play in the NBA and the first player from Harvard to play in the NBA in 60 years. Your probably think Harvard University has a basketball team? Yes they do, although it’s not in the same league as Duke and North Carolina. He went through highschool with no scholarships offers or trails from any university. Lin had been overlooked by recruiters because of his small physical build. He was Harvard’s best player during his college playing days. After graduating Harvard Lin never gave up on his basketball dream. He was offer trails with two NBA teams Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets unfortunately he didn’t make the cut. Discrimination in sports has been against blacks however the small number of Asians represented in sports shows a different kind of stereotyping is effecting equal opportunity in sports today. If Jeremy was of a different colour his basketball journey may have been easier. He has become an inspiration to many of Asia’s youngsters. The same way African-Americans never give up attitude broke boundaries the same goes for Jeremy’s attitude which made his dream a reality.
Lin last shot at the NBA came from New York. The Knicks head coach gave him a chance as starting point guard due to team injurys . He made instant impact, racking up 20+ points per game over 5 games and 38 against the LA Lakers. His best highlight so far was overwhelming the valentine’s day win in Toronto when he shared the love and hit the game winning 3-pointer with 1 second to go against the Raptors, he’s become an overnight sensation on court. Lin’s Number 17 shirts number has been selling out like hot cakes in stores. Lin is still establishing himself in New York’s starting lineup. I believe he will be in the NBA for years to come.
The part of Jeremy’s life that was of particular interest to me was the fact Lin is an evangelical Christian. When asked about his favourite music he named christian artists (Lecrae and Hillsong) because of their worship to God. If NBA stardom did not work out for him, he would have become a Pastor. Just like Tim Tebow another christian is grabbing sports headlines with great performances while openly declaring their faith. I will be blogging more about the spread of “Linsanity”
samworldofview 