Ren Hsieh had a different reaction as Lin was torching the Lakers: He shouted loud enough to wake the baby in the other room. “It was the improbability of it all,” he said.
By JESSE WASHINGTON
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — They know what it feels like to be overlooked. People, they say, assume they are weak, servile, out of place. So when these Asian-Americans watch Jeremy Lin slash and shoot his way through the NBA’s finest, it’s almost as if they are on the basketball court with the California-born point guard who has set the zeitgeist on fire.
Asian-Americans have rallied around other athletes — Michael Chang, Hideo Nomo, Yao Ming, Michelle Wie, Ichiro Suzuki. Tiger Woods was embraced for his Thai side. But Lin has a new and different appeal — a homegrown star besting some of the world’s greatest athletes in an intensely physical sport. Asian-Americans have done well in America in many areas, but not this one.
The child of Taiwanese immigrants, Lin was ignored instead of hyped. He emerged from the end of the bench to hoist the sinking New York Knicks to win after improbable win. A few hints of racism have scratched the edges of his growing fame, but Lin continues to capture the imagination of mainstream America.
In a mere half-dozen games, Lin became that rarest of Asian-Americans: A widely regarded hero.
“There’s a certain validation to this,” said Phil Yu, founder of the influential blog Angry Asian Man, which tracks and discusses Asian issues.
“Asian-Americans are still seen as foreigners in this country,” Yu said. “Seeing Jeremy Lin accepted and celebrated in this American sport, it makes us more American, and it makes other people see us as more American.”
The moment that resonates most with Yu is not Lin’s game-winning 3-pointer against the Toronto Raptors with less than a second to play this week. It’s not Lin’s 38 points to beat the Los Angeles Lakers after Kobe Bryant said he didn’t know who Lin was. It’s not Lin’s crossover leading to a soaring dunk against the Washington Wizards, even though the play victimized John Wall, the top draft pick the year Lin went unselected.
Instead, Yu cherishes seeing a picture of two white fans wearing Lin’s No. 17 Knicks jersey.
“There is no comparison to anything else I’ve ever seen,” Yu said. “I can’t describe how I’m feeling.” Watching Lin’s highlights, “I got a little bit choked up, honestly.”
Ren Hsieh had a different reaction as Lin was torching the Lakers: He shouted loud enough to wake the baby in the other room. “It was the improbability of it all,” he said.