We're "Lin-sane in the Membrane!"

In what seemed like overnight, New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has gone from your average, everyday, obscure-end-of-the-bench player, to national phenomena.  Lin-sanity is sweeping over the nation and the AA staff is just its latest victim.  Game after game, as he continues to play out of his mind, things only keep getting more Lin-sane!  So, naturally, we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give you our take on the talented young man out of Harvard.  Here are five different questions that will hopefully help us sort out fact from fiction in all the Jeremy Lin madness.  It’s time to go all LIN!

The happy go-lucky kid from Harvard continues to impress us here at AA

Who is this guy and where did he come from?

Well, for those of you who still do not know who Jeremy Lin is, (and there probably not very much of you now) let me give you the quick crash course.  Jeremy grew up in Palo Alto, California and attended Palo Alto High School where he won a state championship in basketball.  Out of high school he got no scholarships (not even from Stanford which was literally on the same street as his high school) and therefore decided to attend Harvard and play basketball.  After playing at Harvard he wanted to go pro but wasn’t drafted.  The Golden State Warriors took a chance and signed him but later cut him.  He was picked up by the Rockets and was cut again shortly.  He was living on his brother’s couch when the Knicks signed him.  Out of desperation, to save his job, Coach Mike D’antoni decided to give the kid a shot about a week later after Lin had spent most his time with the Knicks on the bench.  Well, eight straight games of at least 20 points, a six game winning streak, and a game winning buzzer beater later, he has become the most popular player in the NBA. 

What is with all the Lin puns?

If your keeping score at home, there were three puns in the first paragraph of this post alone.  With that said though, I think I am starting to get tired of them.  Everyone thinks they came up with the next best one.  “All he does is Lin”, “A Lin-derella Story”, “Lin-stant Classic”,  “Lin-credible!”,we’ve heard it all by now.  If I hear one more I might “Lin-stintaneously Combust!”  Okay, maybe I’m not done quite yet after all.

Some people are saying that the only reason he is getting all this attention is his race, agree?

Absolutely not.  The reason he is getting this attention is for two reasons mainly.  One, the dude can flat out ball.  A day after Kobe Bryant disrespected him, he dropped 38 on the Lakers on national TV.  I’m sorry but people are going to start notice you if you do that.  Second, his story is almost too scripted.  America loves an underdog and this kid is that and some.  If you gave his story to a Hollywood filmmaker to be made into a movie they would probably shoot it down for being too unrealistic and that no one would buy it.  That’s why everyone loves him.  I think the race factor does have something to do with it, but I don’t care if he is black, white, blue, or green.  His talent speaks for itself.

With all the attention Lin is getting, do you think LeBron James regrets not coming to New York last summer? 

ABSOLUTELY!!!  How could he not?  Not a knock on Lin at all, but with how big he is right now, how big do you think LeBron would have gotten?  Lin was a bench player, but James is the best player on the planet.  If he would have brought his talents to New York instead of Miami just think of how crazy the garden would get from night to night.  He would have been a basketball immortal, a god practically.  Especially if he brought a championship to that city, and doing it on maybe the biggest stage in all of sports?  I better stop myself from dreaming now before I get too carried away.  It doesn't matter, Lin is making us forget all about that team from South beach anyway .

Is this guy for real and here to stay? Or will he fade away into obscurity once again?

By now I think we all have to realize that this guy is definitely for real.  I mean, worst possible scenario, he ends up having a solid career as a mix-it up energy guy off the bench.  Yet, the more we see him play, the more I'm being convinced that he is blossoming into an elite point guard for years to come.  When you watch him play, not paying attention to stats, he easily passes the eye test.  He has the quickness of guys like D-Rose and Russell Westbrook, but he has the court vision and basketball IQ of Steve Nash.  It's no secret he is extremely smart (he did go to Harvard if that means anything), but those smarts mixed with his athleticism make for one Hell of a good basketball player.  Nevertheless, if your the type of person that only pays attention to stats, how are these?  Through his first seven starts he has scored more points than anyone in league history has done in their first seven starts and is second to only John Stockton in assists.  It's hard not to notice stats like those.  C'mon people, it is Lin-conceivable for anyone to still keep doubting this kid!

After Further Review: Hatred in Sports

Finally, we have arrived to Super Bowl Sunday.  With this Super Sunday edition of the AA post I wanted to point out one thing I noticed as we approached this day.  Throughout the playoffs when I talked to people about the games I heard many things like, "As long as (insert team here) doesn't win I am happy" or "I can't stand (insert player here)."  I never really thought about it much before, but in the world of sports, as fans, we absolutely, completely, whole heartedly HATE people and groups of people that we have never met before.  And the scary part is...we love it.  In a lot of aspects of our lives I believe that most people try to be rational and understanding about things, but when it comes to sports all that is thrown out the window.  As a sports fan myself, there are a lot of teams and players I love to hate, and it brings me great joy to see those teams/players fail miserably.  I wouldn't expect any different from any other "true" fan.  If someone told me they love sports, but they don't have a favorite team (or have like 9 favorite teams) and just root for everyone to play well and succeed, I would have no respect for them as a fan of sports.  I mean, in how many other areas of life can you think of that we openly root for people to fail, and feel good about ourselves when we do?  That my friends is what being a fan of sports is all about.

However, no hate we feel from player to player or team to team is quite equal.  There are levels of hate that each of us feel towards certain teams and players that trumps the hate for some other player of team.  That is why here on the AA Staff (of one) we put in the hundreds of man hours of research and development to bring together the official "Pyramid of Hate!"  The pyramid is an easy go-to guide on the different levels of hatred that we as sports fans feel.

The "I don't know why, but I don't really like him/them" division:

This is probably the lowest form of sports hatred.  It is basically when you don't like a player because of the way he plays or a team because you don't like their jersey colors or logo.  These are the people you root against when you have no "real" vested interest in a sporting event that you happen to be watching.  This is also easily the most volatile division of the pyramid because most of us are one heart felt segment on SportsCenter about Athlete X's troubled childhood away from someone in this divison  becoming one of our favorite athletes.

The "Why won't we trade/cut/hire a hitman to get rid of him division" Division:


Not that anyone hates Nicolas Cage, but can you remember the last good movie he has made in over a decade?  None come to mind, and I have a theory for this called the "Nicolas Cage Effect".  He is such a bad actor that no matter how great of a cast, script, or director you give him he will produce a bad movie.  He single handedly is a cancer to any movie he makes.  For any "true"sports fan we all know at least one player (often times more) on one of our teams that consistently makes bonehead plays and cost the team.   Essentially he is your teams Nick Cage.  You hate him for the simple fact they area cancer to  your team and you want them off.  Ask any Cowboys fan how they feel about a one Mr. Tony Romo? Granted you could make a whole entire sub pyramid of hate within this division, but for the sake of time let's move on.

The "They beat us so I hate them" division:

As a fan, you come to like other athletes and teams around the different leagues.  That is until your team gets beat by them.  Personal Story:  I used to like the Milwaukee Brewers and would root for them as long as they weren't playing my D-backs.  When the NLDS came around and we were playing the Brewers, I thought, well if we lose I won't mind that bad because I don't really hate Milwaukee.  After the events that unfolded during the series with the whole "Beast Mode" thing they did after EVERY hit and Nyjer "I'm a career role player but I will still talk sh*t" Morgan acting like he won the world series every time he got on base got annoying quick.  That coupled with them winning the series, needless to say I will no longer ever be rooting for the Brewers ever again.  Miller Lite Sucks!!

The "Rivalry" Division:

Formerly the top of the pyramid, this is the most traditional form of hate.  Its the most organic and pure. For most people they are born into it.  In Boston they know to hate the Yankees, Lakers, Jets, etc.  The same is true for many other cities.  Kids grow up watching their favorite team and often times experience their soul getting ripped out after suffering heart breaking losses to rivals.  It happened (way more times than not) to me, and that is what sticks with us.  It becomes part of our identity as sports fans to hate these teams.  When you see the colors of that team, anger builds up and a dark sickness creeps into our stomach.  On the flip side, when they lose, our hearts are filled with happiness.  When your team plays a rival there is a different air to them game and it's practically palpable.  There is a "we don't like you and you don't like us" feeling.  That is what makes sports so great.  I once thought this level of hate to be unbreakable until...

The "I hate you because it's the right thing to do" division: 


Not too long ago, I would've told you under no circumstances do you ever root for a rival of your team.    That is until this happened.  When three of the sports best athletes conspire to come together to try and dominate the league, as a sports fan there is no level of hate greater than that you must feel for the team that does this.  The Heat are exactly what's wrong with sports and for that rooting against them trumps rooting against any other team, even if they are your teams rival.  Yes I said it.  There is just a certain integrity about it.  A "true" sports fan knows this and that is why the Heat were almost unanimously hated by the entire country last summer when they were making their title run.  I even talked to a die hard Laker fan who admitted to rooting for the Celtics (which, if you know anything about Laker fans is completely taboo) against the Heat .  When they did in fact lose you could almost feel the collective sigh of relief let out by millions of Americans.  To me, this is the greatest form of sports hatred and the closest comparison I could give to someone that is not a sports fan is rooting for the heat would be like rooting for the Nazis in World War II.  You hate them because it is the right thing to do.