Lindescribable

Everyone loves an underdog story. You know what I mean, the guy or team who defied all odds and came out on top. The 1980 US hockey team, a bunch of rag tag Midwestern kids who somehow banded together to defeat the Soviets and they still had to dig deep to beat Finland and claim the Gold Medal. And we all know the story of Rudy, the plucky kid who barely even made it into Notre Dame and somehow found his way into a game. It's one of your duties as an American, paying taxes, voting, and cheering for the underdog. That is one of the many reasons why so many of us (myself included) have fallen completely in to the "Linsanity" craze made by New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin.

The kid has fought ridiculous trials and tribulations to get here. He played his college ball at Harvard, and went completely unnoticed despite being a three year starter. He went undrafted, before being signed by the Golden State Warriors. Three teams, and four stints in the NBA D-League later he found himself on his brother's couch, playing for chance to be a backup on the Knicks with his contract not even guaranteed. And you should know the rest of the story by now. 25 against the Nets, 28 against the Jazz, 23 against the Wizards, 38 against the Lakers upstaging Kobe in the process, 20 against the T-Wolves in a comeback win, and the week ended with him being named "Eastern Conference Player of the Week". What a way to start your second season in the NBA. Going from down and out, even considering taking a short break from basketball, to becoming the starting point guard on the biggest team in the NBA as well as being the most productive player in NBA history through his first five starts, that's a true underdog right there.

His faith has been another reason for the attention, almost to Tim Tebow levels of attention (unlike Tebow, Lin is actually good as his sport, all I'm going to say on the subject). Lin has given it all up to God, and he's reaping the benefits. End of all his interviews, he puts himself second, to God, then to his team, completely unselfish. He's as humble as they come, not caring about the spotlight of New York like so many New York athletes care way to much about. He's doesn't care about the papers, how he looks in public, or giving interviews (he denied Letterman). He's just here to put his team first and help them win basketball games, and five straight for a team that looked dead in the water is pretty good, and he's not taking any credit, giving up to God and his teammates.

The way Jeremy Lin has exploded into the NBA is amazing, and to be honest, a little unbelievable, but it definitely shows what a little hard work and a lot of faith can do.

Duh, Linning!