Linsanity!

Gotta weigh in on this Linsanity. Back on 5/26/10 I wrote a blog about how we will begin to see more and more Asians in professional sports. I mean other than in ping pong and archery.

Here is a little excerpt:

I believe that in the next 10-15 years you will begin to see a lot more Asians entering into professional sports. Parents around my age/generation are no longer instilling this eastern mystical garbage into our kids, that a career in Medicine or Law is the only respectable career. I feel a lot more parents our generation will encourage our kids to follow their passion and support them no matter what they want to do, especially if they want to become a professional athlete.

Perhaps some of the reasons are that we don’t want to suffocate them the way our parents did, but a lot of it has to do with financial stability. Unlike our parents who often had to grind it out every day in their stores or multiple jobs, we have careers. We don’t feel the financial burden and impress upon our kids fear tactics of becoming rich and successful so they can help the family out.

Dr. Harry Edwards a sociology professor at Berkeley argued that African Americans dominated professional sports not because they were genetically gifted, but rather very much like the whole Asians becoming doctors phenomenon, most African Americans were channeled into that career as an only option.

Now I don’t completely agree with Dr. Edwards, but here we are two years later, we are enthralled with a new Asian phenom in the least likely of all places, the NBA. A league dominated by 6’8” black, athletic giants. Even good white players are overhyped and glorified in the NBA.

Now you get this modest, unbecoming Asian guy who looks like a little boy fresh off the boat and even though he is just a mediocre player, Asians all over America are claiming him as their own. We are so starving and desperate for an Asian role model who isn’t a kung fu action star with broken English, that we will desperately grab on to anything that comes our way, Jeremy Lin being the perfect example.

Now I’m not hating on Jeremy Lin, I really do hope the Knicks beat the Lakers tonight. I really do hope that Jeremy Lin scores another double double. When Kobe Bryant was asked about playing Jeremy Lin, he said, “Who is this kid?" said Bryant. "I've heard about him. What is he doing?"

If Lin is exploding against the Lakers, asked another, would Bryant consider guarding him? He cursed softly. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," said Bryant with the smallest sarcastic laugh.

No doubt Jeremy Lin shouldn't even be breathed in the same sentence as Kobe Bryant as he is no where in his league. But hey for many Asian Americans he’s all we got for now.