Jeremy Lin: The Rejected One

I’ve got Linsanity.

Since I posted so much on Tim Tebow last fall, I believe it is time to come clean and admit I’m a Jeremy Lin fan. He’s the freshly-minted New York Knick point guard who has suddenly come from deep off the bench (and from sleeping on his brother’s couch) to inspire millions with both his athletic ability and his Christian faith.

Over the course of the football season, I warmed to Tim Tebow, but didn’t start out there. But with Jeremy Lin, I’m a fan and I haven’t even actually seen him play a game. I’ve been asking myself what’s different. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

• Jeremy Lin went to Harvard.More US Presidents have come from Harvard than NBA basketball players. I like that.
• Jeremy Lin went to InterVarsity at Harvard. I have friends who work for InterVarsity. I like that.
• Jeremy Lin has not invented a public praying posture. I like that.
• Jeremy Lin actually is from a minority group.When Tebowmania hit, I heard an apologetic being made for Tim T. as a persecuted minority. I never bought that. I do buy that Jeremy Lin is crashing stereotypes. I like that.

Finally, there’s this thought, something I heard Frank DeFord eloquently commenting on about Jeremy Lin on NPR the other day. (I’m paraphrasing his idea for those of you that didn’t hear it.) I’m rooting for Jeremy Lin because he symbolizes all the talented and creative people in the world that never got their chance. The Knicks are his second NBA team this season and the only reason he got some playing time was their roster was depleted by injuries and the coach figured he had nothing left to lose by giving him a chance in a game. The Knicks promptly went on a Lin-led winning streak that probably saved the coach’s job. But how many Jeremy Lin’s are there in the world? How many songwriters have written beautiful music that only their family and friends have heard? How many people with great voices never get a shot? (I haven’t seen much of American Idol, but have seen enough to know I have NO idea how the judges make their decisions.) How many great books do publishers pass on every year? For every JK Rowling who kept going after 9 or 10 rejections and finally found a publisher, how many others are there who get discouraged after rejection after rejection and quit trying? I mean, most of us had a lifetime worth of rejection in adolescence and aren’t interested in going through it again. Van Gough never sold a painting in his lifetime. Gerard Manley Hopkins never had a poem published until 23 years after his death.

So keep going Jeremy Lin. It seems ironic that a recent poll named LeBron James, who first appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated under the headline “The Chosen One,” as the most hated athlete in America. Jeremy Lin is the anti-LeBron, the rejected one instead of the chosen one. Lin is on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. (A great issue, I might add, because not only is Linsanity covered, but there’s a moving article about Fennville’s Wes Leonard as well.) The headline says “Against All Odds.” I wish I was writing headlines for SI. I would have said, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”