MABUHAY

haha…every single hour of sports talk i’ve listened to this week has had at least 1mention of jLin and all his gloriousness. and honestly, i’m incredibly happy for him. but there this one thing that Dan Patrick said today on his radio show…”almost every single person can see themselves in Jeremy Lin; he’s an underdog, he’s been overlooked, he’s had to sleep on his brother’s couch, people have put pressure and expectations on him and you can’t overlook the fact that the Asian-American community has been hungry for a player like him.”

look, it’d be stupid to overreact and say that Jeremy Lin is going to be a perennial all-star who averages 25ppg and 10apg for the rest of his career. but i’ve been following this guy ever since his sophomore year at Harvard. that UCONN game where he dropped 30pts? yeah, i saw that. that W&M game where he scored that game-winning 3 while falling down? i saw that one too. i’ve been trying to grab people’s attention about his potential, but i honestly never believed he could have such flashes of greatness. most people would fold under the pressure of NYC and its ruthless media; even the lights of MSG have been known to melt some of the greatest players’ wills. 

but i see myself represented by him. when he was coming out of Harvard and made himself eligible for the draft, he had this interview for ESPN and he said something to effect of, “…if this basketball thing doesn’t work out for me, i’m fine with it, because i get to live my dream of being a pastor.” i mean…that’s not an exact quote, but i definitely started rooting for him to succeed, because there are soo many “christians”(air-quotes) playing pro sports, but very rarely do you find people who are dedicated and faithful christians. 

he’s more than just hype. he’s more than just a flash in the pan. his work ethic, self-confidence, and persistence prevent him from being anything less than excellent. i praise God for his awesome example.