“Linsanity” – Tired of it all?!

You ever get tired of hearing the same thing over and over again because it gets played out after everyone and everybody is talking about the same old thing? What was once a hot topic becomes yesterday’s news? Kind of like a hot track that gets overly played on the radio. It just starts to get annoying, and you start to get sick of it. That’s what we call “hype” – something that peaks in popularity at some point and loses credibility once people start to get tired of it. “Linsanity” is not hype. Hype fails to inspire. Jeremy Lin is by definition – not hype.

If anything, we’re all supposed to be hitting the “enough is enough” wall sometime soon with all of this Jeremy Lin stuff right? I mean, he’s all over my Facebook and Twitter, and the topic of discussion around the water cooler at the office for days now. Naturally, my reaction would be “C’mon, can we move on?” Jeremy Lin is hogging all of the attention and I don’t see a media detour happening any time soon. All of these “Lin” puns are popping up everywhere:

“All we do is LIN LIN LIN”

“LIN Long and Prosper”

“Everyday I’m HustLIN”

“Truly a LINderella Story”

…and I actually look forward to more images like these:

Why is my short attention span not affected by this redundant person in my life? Maybe because I like the fact that some big shot like Nike can’t take credit for “Linsanity”. It was created by the fact that an Asian American kid from Harvard can play ball. It’s driven by the classic underdog story. It’s supported by all the people and minority kids who say “He’s just like me. Therefore, I can be like him.”

“Linsanity” is too authentic for us not to feel anything but greatness when we listen, read, and talk about the man behind the phenomenon. It wasn’t a campaign gimmick that manifested this cultural movement. It’s an organic feeling because Jeremy was not packaged and processed like stars in the past; he was discovered in the most unconventional way. “Linsanity” came from all of us including me, you, and our friends. This makes it more meaningful, because it was delivered by people we know. This is “social networking” working its magic at it’s very root and core.

We live in an instant-gratification and over-plotted media world. Jeremy Lin would be hype if his No.17 was printed on every shirt and jersey before he made his first winning shots. He took the world by surprise. He was the last thing anyone expected. That’s what makes him so damn real to us. That’s why we keep wanting more. Win or lose! “You gotta lose some to ‘Lin’ some” and the recent NY Nicks lost to the NJ Nets was evident of that. It might have to do with the mess in chemistry with the return of Carmelo Anthony, but that’s another topic for discussion. We still want more Lin presence on the court!!

At the moment, Jeremy Lin is the most refreshing “trend” to me out there. Maybe soon, his name will turn into a phony brand, slapped across toys, and cereal boxes. But for now, let the Asian kid play!!! I’m enjoying every minute of my brother’s claim to fame. He totally deserves it. And anyone getting in the way of that or discrediting him deserves to be fired. Like this guy.

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