This is Lindiana

Linsanity is officially a real thing.

New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin has taken center stage in the media market, as well as in our hearts, his stardom culminating in his game-winning shot to seal the victory on VaLintine’s Day. Yeah, they went there.

Although Lin’s numbers could speak for themselves, his real star power is coming not from his stat sheet but from his birth certificate.

Lin’s Taiwanese ancestry makes him an Asian sensation, striking big in the hearts of those who share this common link. Just as Yao Ming was a hit among the Asian sports fans, so, too, does Lin gain a following based on his national heritage.

Beyond simply his nationality, though, Lin is the king of all niche-fillers. He is also a graduate of Harvard — an economics scholar among the freshmen college dropouts.

Not only is he an Asian-American striking it big, he is doing so with a Harvard degree. Can you be more of a stereotype, please?

Fitting a stereotype, though, only helps Lin’s rise to stardom.

I, as a columnist, am willing to guarantee that Lin will be in the All-Star game next year for no other reason other than his popularity with fans.

Again, this is the same thing that happened to Ming. Ming was making All-Star rosters long after his stats hit the deck. He made the 2011 roster after spending almost the entire season on injury reserve.

Lin will ride this wave straight to the bank. His ability to play up the fan love and win a little luck with the late-game heroics will launch him into the starlight for as long as he plays.

He doesn’t even need to make baskets. Just commercials will do.

The icing on the cake is his faith. Just a month from the conclusion to the season of Tebowmania, yet another young phenom is taking to Sportscenter as a devout Christian.

Lin’s Twitter presence references God, and his official online NBA bio cites “going to church” as one of his main hobbies.

With his religious fervor, Ivy-league intellect and national backing, he encompasses the holy trinity of the sports media world. Whether Lin is a genuinely talented, spiritual, intelligent basketball player is a non-issue.

What Lin is really a master of is playing the league and his media appearance.

Even if his numbers fall off the table (which, at some point, they inevitably will), Lin has created the perfect basketball “character” because we already have a super team (the Heat), a fun-loving big man (Dwight Howard) and a hometown hero (Derrick Rose). What we didn’t have was a God-revering, Ivy League national hero.

Did I mention he is unusually short for a basketball player? Everyone loves
an underdog.


­— azoot@indiana.edu