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Oh the Linsanity
Jeremy Lin is an NBA basketball player for the New York Knicks. He exploded
onto the NBA scene from bench warmer to starter at the point guard position. The
Knicks had a losing record until he led them on a seven game winning streak, putting
the Knicks back into playoff contention. During the month of February he was the most
searched NBA player beating out superstars such as Kobe Bryant and Lebron James.
There are many factors for his success such as his off the court story. He does not fit
the stereotypical basketball player, because he is Asian and comes from Harvard an Ivy
League school. Harvard is known for producing more presidents than NBA athletes. His
performance and notoriety go hand in hand even though the majority of his supporters
are Asian and are overseas.
Jeremy Lin’s timing is a huge factor due to the Knicks losing season. They were
in desperate need of a point guard. “The mantra for Knicks fans during the team's awful
8-15 start was: Just wait for a point guard to run the offense, get our stars the ball and
run some pick and rolls, and then you'll see.” (Simpson 2012) The Knicks were
expected to be a championship contending team with their star player Carmelo Anthony
and Amare Stoudemire. Due to the lack of a true point guard, the Knicks were unable to
execute their plan on the offensive end. Coach Mike D’Antoni is also to blame since he
has two superstar athletes on his roster and is unable to produce a winning record. If
the Knicks were having a winning season, then Jeremy Lin would not have been given
significant playing time.
Baron Davis was meant to be the Knicks starting point guard, but was unable to
play due to injuries. “The team's need for a good point guard is so overwhelming that
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fans (including myself) have been waiting with bated breath for a 32-year-old cast-off
with a herniated disk in his back and a history of weight problems to hopefully get
healthy.” (Simpson 2012) The other point guards Mike Bibby and Tony Douglas were
inefficient at playing the role. Jeremy Lin filled the void, Knicks fans and players needed
in order to have a winning season. If Baron Davis was able to play, then most likely
Jeremy Lin would have been waived, therefore crippling his NBA career even further.
During the beginning of the Linsanity winning streaks, Jeremy Lin drew interest
from New York Knicks fans and NBA analyst. Knicks fans wanted a solution to their
point guard issue. They saw a sense of hope in Jeremy Lin as they started to call the
Knicks Jeremy Lin’s team. His popularity overshadowed the stars of the Knicks, which
are Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire
have a loyal fan base, but since Jeremy Lin was able to draw interest from the New
York Knicks fan base. His notoriety was able to surpass them due to his timing.
Since Yao Ming retired from the league in 2011. There was not an Asian
basketball player as talented as Yao Ming for Asian people to follow. So Jeremy Lin
was able to take on Yao Ming’s fan base instantly. Chinese television stations
scrambled to get New Knicks games broadcasted in their area.
Jeremy Lin’s off the court story is inspiring and background makes people feel
compelled to learn more about his personal life. “Lin has several prerequisites for
Internet superstardom. He's the first graduate of Harvard to play in the NBA since 1954.
He's the only Asian-American (Taiwanese-American, to be exact) currently playing in a
league that has been desperately seeking them since Yao Ming hung up his oversized
spurs. And he's battled through adversity to make it to the Knicks: Undrafted and cut by
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two teams in the last year, he's currently sleeping on his brother's couch.” (Simpson
2012) His story is the classic Cinderella story of a person living life on the verge of
unemployment and after he was given significant minutes to perform. He became an
instant celebrity. Not only were basketball fans interested in Lin, but he was able to gain
interest from fans outside of basketball. The fans wanted to know more about him from
sleeping on his brother’s couch and ticket scalpers and financial analyst wanted to
predict the trend.
Jeremy Lin sleeping on his brother’s couch drew interest from his followers
because the vision of an NBA player’s lifestyle is known to be lavish. Since NBA
basketball players are not known to be using meager accommodations. An NBA player
is usually known to be a supporter of their family and friends. They are not known to be
burdens on them.
Since Jeremy Lin is Christian the news broadcasters compared him the NFL
quarterback Tim Tebow. They often asked Lin about his thoughts about Tebow. They
are assumed to be similar athletes playing different sports according to the news
broadcaster, because they are asked the same questions about their religion.
Financial analyst is interested because they know he drives the MSG stock up,
which is the television station that broadcasts the Knicks. They were also interested in
watching Jeremy Lin merchandise sales. As the Knicks win more games, more Lin
merchandise is sold. Also, the demand for Knicks tickets has increased and ticket
scalpers are able to increase their profits from ticket sales.
Jeremy Lin has taken some criticism due to the fact that he is Asian American.
Such as a twitter comment from light heavy weight boxing champion, Floyd
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Mayweather’ Tweeted “Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he's
Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don't get the same praise. I'm
speaking my mind on behalf of other NBA players. They are programmed to be
politically correct and will be penalized if they speak up."(Mayweather 2012) If this were
the case then Yi Jian a Chinese basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks, who plays
power forward, would also receive the same notoriety as well. Yi Jian is also a high level
draft pick when he entered the NBA. Due to his poor performance he is unable to attain
the same notoriety as Jeremy Lin.
The only Asian NBA player to attain notoriety similar to Jeremy Lin is former
Houston Rockets Center Yao Ming. His performance was good enough to land him in
eight All Star game appearances. Most of his votes came from China. If Yi Jian’s
performance was up to par with Yao Ming, then he would also have appeared in the All
Star game as well. Instead, Yi has been traded to three different teams throughout his
career due to his poor performance on the basketball court. So performance is factor in
gaining notoriety regardless of race.
Jeremy Lin was also in his second season as an NBA player. He gained a
contract from the Golden State warriors, but was given minimal playing time due to their
elite point guards which are Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis. These two point guards
have already established their positions in the NBA and Jeremy Lin was never given a
chance due to their notoriety. The Golden State Warriors had a losing record and there
was never a public outcry to let Jeremy Lin play. Since the need for the team to perform
better was not at the point guard position. This is the reason he was released and
traded to the Houston Rockets. The Houston Rockets did not have a need for a point
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guard and ended up waiving him from the team as well. Afterwards, he was picked up
by the New York Knicks in order to fill the void of point guard.
Jeremy Lin’s story is inspiring. He was on the verge of getting cut from third NBA
team. If he had been cut from the team his NBA career would have been in jeopardy.
He was able to catch a break with the help of Jeremy Lin’s teammate Carmelo Anthony.
Carmelo Anthony strongly recommended to Coach Mike D’antoni to allow Jeremy Lin to
play against the New Jersey Nets on February 4, 2012. Jeremy Lin performed well
enough to earn a starting role as point guard for the rest of the 2012 season. He was
able to lead the Knicks on a seven game winning streak.
Jeremy Lin’s best performance during the seven game winning streaks was
game four against the LA Lakers. “And nothing tops Lakers at Knicks on Feb. 10. In his
third start and fourth game as the Knicks' new go-to guy -- with Amare Stoudemire and
Carmelo Anthony injured, and Lin's bosses grateful they didn't go through with their
original plans to waive the 23-year-old to prevent his $762,195 contract from becoming
guaranteed for the rest of the season -- Lin squared off with Kobe Bryant in an ESPN
Friday night showdown. Even crazier: Lin rose to the occasion like no one would have
dared to dream and won the duel in one of Kobe's favorite buildings, lighting up
Madison Square Garden for a whopping 38 points that changed his life forever.”(Stein
2012) The event is significant because before the game a reporter had asked if Kobe
knew about Jeremy Lin. Kobe kept saying he didn’t know anything about him and would
see Jeremy Lin on the court. Jeremy Lin’s critics doubted his performance claiming, he
has not competed against an elite athlete. Kobe Bryant is considered an elite athlete
comparable to Michael Jordon. Jeremy Lin was able to outperform Kobe during the
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game by scoring more points than him.
Jeremy Lin’s performance against the Lakers drew the highest interest from
people all over the world. The reason for this is because Jeremy Lin’s critics assumed
he would not perform well against the Lakers. Kobe Bryant’s comments became a
meme as Jeremy Lin’s fans would make various parodies of the Kobe’s comments.
Some of the catch phrases where “Do you know me now Kobe? Or My name is Jeremy
Lin.” These meme spread through various forms of media such as pictures and was
even mentioned on Saturday Night Live. Comments made against Lin were popular,
and it made NBA stars such as Lebron James and Dwayne Wade think twice about
their comments when referencing Jeremy Lin.
Jeremy Lin ranks number one among point guards with scoring and assists
during their first ten career starts. “The Elias Sports Bureau would inform us, for
example, that Lin's 238 points and 94 assists in his first 10 starts were better than
Derrick Rose (189 points and 56 dimes), John Stockton (98 and 91), Isiah Thomas (212
and 69) and Magic Johnson (194 and 71).”(Stein 2012) During his first ten starts he is
able to outperform elite point guards of the NBA. These players were expected to
perform at a high level due to their performance in college. Jeremy Lin comparison to
these elite players drew attention to his performance. They were meant to draw interest
in giving him the label as a superstar elite basketball player. This of course would draw
more conversation and debate about placing him among the elite.
Jeremy Lin’s popularity is based on various factors from his performance on the
court, personal life and possible financial ventures tied to his name. “Some services
used by individuals to communicate are natural candidates for viral marketing, because
the product can be observed or advertised as part of the communication.” (Leskovec
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2007) Depending on the interest his name, he is linked to various markets. Each market
uses his name differently in order to promote conversation or to sell products.
Jeremy Lin’s popularity spread like a virus starting with the interest of his
performance. “The classical disease propagation models are based on the stages of a
disease in a host: a person is first susceptible to a disease then, if the person is
exposed to an infectious contact she can become infected and thus infectious. After the
disease ceases the person is recovered or removed. Person is then immune for some
period. The immunity can also wear off and the person becomes again susceptible.”
(Leskovec 2007) After his winning streak came to end the interest of his performance
came to end. Then, the interest was shifted toward Coach D’ Antoni and his use of
Jeremy Lin. The Knicks were losing games and the interest of Jeremy Lin was not
based on his performance. The interest shifted to Coach D’ Antoni’s coaching and the
use of Lin. So the interest of Jeremy Lin’s performance wore off, but a new interest in
Jeremy Lin had developed.
The interest of Jeremy Lin was originally based on his performance in the NBA.
Then he was compared to various NBA players on performance. His personal story and
race also drew interest from various fans. Whenever a topic about him was exhausted a
new topic emerged keeping the interest of Jeremy Lin trending. He was able to affect
the sports community, Asian community and financial community. Therefore, the
interest of Jeremy Lin kept growing and continues to grow. If his performance
diminishes on the court, then the interest of him will decrease. His timing is also a factor
because if he was on a losing team that did not need a point guard. Then he would not
of had a chance to play significant minutes.
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Bibliography
Leskovec, J. (2007, April 20). The Dynamics of Viral Marketing. . Retrieved May 3,
2012, from http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ladamic/papers/viral/viralTWeb.pdf
Simpson, J. (2012, February 8). Linsanity: How the Internet Made Jeremy Lin a
Star in Less than a Week. The Atlantic.
Stein, M. (2012, April). The Rise Of Jeremy Lin And The Undrafted. . Retrieved April 7, 2012,
from http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-120406-07/weekend-dime-jeremy-linundrafted