Linsanity is so much bigger than one person

Linsanity is not Jeremy Lin.

Linsanity is not a nickname, meme or trending topic.

Linsanity is something much bigger:

Linsanity is unexpected human triumph.

Linsanity is the dream we all have that talent is more important than systems, politics, connections or The so-called Man.

Linsanity is when the establishment is profoundly shaken.

Linsanity is when Spike Lee and a grandmother in Pasadena start tweeting about the same thing.

Linsanity is when something really human happens in a previously very fabricated set of circumstances.

Linsanity is being crazy enough to take the opportunity in front of you.

Linsanity is a state of defying pressure and creating a new set of wildly unexpected expectations.

Linsanity is a little piece of imagination that tickles us when it spontaneously becomes real.

Linsanity is stranger than fiction.

Linsanity would be a cheesy unbelievable Hollywood movie.

But since it’s real, it’s inspiring and extraordinary.

Linsanity is the intersection of hyperbole and truth.

Linsanity is hope personified.

I hope there is no cure for our case of Linsanity.

via (11) What is the definition of Linsanity? – Quora.

The Remarkable Racist Undercurrent to the Jeremy Lin Saga « The Curmudgeon’s Attic

For me, as a non-Asian-American, the chants of MVP at the Garden embody the ability of sport to transcend race, rather than accentuate a contrived racial, religious and educational (?) subtext.  Imagine, were there to arise a new white phenom in the NBA who had attended the University of Alabama and was devoted to an ecumenical view of God as not belonging to any particular theology (however improbable it all might seem), had I exclaimed, as a White-American and Alabama grad and ecumenicist how profoundly surreal it felt that one of my own—someone with whom I shared all my significant tribal markers—was being feted for the greatness of his ability and character.  After the scoffs and guffaws subsided, I would be dismissed as some racist crank.  But for Mr. Luo to do so is perfectly appropriate.  Disregard for the moment the curious affinity Mr. Luo feels towards Lin because of his religion (perhaps understandable, given the Christian compulsion to evangelizing) and his alma mater (which I’ve never, and will never, understand—how does attending the same university cause a tribal impulse of affinity to arise?), it is the racist portion that is of the greatest interest.  Mr. Luo’s comments as an Asian-American reveal the precarious state of racial relations in the US today, and has implications for how the US addresses challenges it will face in the international community going forward.

via The Remarkable Racist Undercurrent to the Jeremy Lin Saga « The Curmudgeon's Attic.

Yao among many Chinese fans rooting on Lin’s success story | NBA.com

“What I see from Jeremy and what I hear in his interviews is he appreciates everything. He pursues his dream. His attitude is so peaceful, but there is strength to him. It is not a violent strength like fire or something aggressive. It is like the ocean, very peaceful, very quiet when you look at it. But you can never underestimate the power that is in there.”

via Yao among many Chinese fans rooting on Lin's success story | NBA.com.

via Yao Ming discusses Jeremy Lin as eloquently as you’d expect

Reality: Linsanity Never Happens If He Doesn’t Play In New York City | ThePostGame

Let’s pretend, for a moment, that Golden State or Houston realized their good fortune in stumbling upon Jeremy Lin. In a streak of unparalleled excellence during his first string of NBA starts, he makes all the shots and sets all the records he has while with New York. But he’s not in New York. He’s in Texas or California, beyond the reach of the hype centers that are Los Angeles and New York.

Would he get this much attention? Would he be the sole focus of the NBA? Would ESPN (and Yahoo!, in fairness) devote vast chunks of its entire catalogue of programming to overlooked, yet overachieving rising star? Does the phenomenon known as Linsanity exist?

No. None of that happens. So please, quit pretending that media markets aren’t inflating a great story that they would have otherwise cheerfully noted alongside the progress of young stars like Ricky Rubio.

Rather than shine a light on Houston or Golden State, giving either franchise a desperately needed moment in the sun, they would be cast as lovely sideshows with potential for something special. Lin would be inspiring, but not riding a tidal wave of hysteria.

Instead, the great media machine wins out.

via Reality: Linsanity Never Happens If He Doesn't Play In New York City | ThePostGame.

Whether intentional or not, ESPN’s since-deleted headline about Jeremy Lin was distressing | Ball Don’t Lie – Yahoo! Sports

The copy editors that OK’d this headline:

A since-deleted ESPN.com and ESPN Mobile screenshot, sadly. (Courtesy Gothamist)

… and the on-air copy whose work you’ll hear on video after the jump could have just been making a pair of mortifying, awful mistakes. Endless amounts of writers from all fields still use that phrase, and for those of us that only think about Lin’s ethnic background about once-in-whenever someone does something stupid, we have to go easy until we find out just who put the mistakes together. Knowing ESPN, though, we’ll never know, we’ll never find out their real intentions, and this will “go away” quicker than rumors of a potential human relations violation regarding the preparation of the gruel in 1930s Siberia.

Here’s the video, from ESPNNews on Wednesday. And while we can’t excuse this sort of phrase going through, think of the endless times you’ve heard it used on either 24-hour radio or 24-cable shows like these to describe a mitigating factor. Again, no excuse for someone on the floor not to raise a hackle and ask the anchor to switch his copy, but it could be an innocent, mortifying mistake:

via Whether intentional or not, ESPN’s since-deleted headline about Jeremy Lin was distressing | Ball Don't Lie – Yahoo! Sports.