Thursday, February 09, 2012

Jeremy Lin

We remarked below how "unknown" point guard Jeremy Lin has risen to the top of the sports universe this week by leading the New York Knickerbockers to victories over the Jazz and the Nets. He did it again last night against the Washington Wizards:
Jeremy Lin, the undrafted Harvard economics graduate, has now played 111 meaningful minutes of NBA basketball since the weekend. He's scored a combined 76 points, become a national phenomenon, won three games and blown a few minds.

He is part Steve Nash, part Paul Bunyan and late Wednesday night, after the Knicks beat the Washington Wizards 107-93, Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni called him "for real." So stop rubbing your eyes—it's not a dream.
Three attributes widely regarded as positives in the rest of society--Harvard degree, Asian-American, 6'3" height--were obstacles to Jeremy Lin's acceptance by NBA teams; it is an understatement to say that expectations for him were low.

His underdog status, his performance on the biggest media stage during the quiet period between the Super Bowl and the NCAA tournament, his sincere understated Christianity, and his growing international (especially Asian) following make Jeremy Lin a public relations dream.

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