Jeremy Lin In College: A First Hand Account

I’m sitting in the middle of a long table, enjoying lunch with my small group after Sunday service. One of my friends asks sweetly, “Annie, did you know Jeremy Lin?” Suddenly, all other conversations cease and ten pairs of eyes fixate on me, waiting for my response. “Yeah, I knew him. We were both in HRAACF [the Harvard-Radcliffe Asian-American Christian Fellowship]. But I didn’t really know him – we’ve spoken maybe a couple times.

It seems that Jeremy Lin is the unavoidable, ubiquitous conversation topic these days. I’ve watched with amusement over the last couple weeks as the most unlikely of fans have emerged from within my social circles. One of my good friends, literally the last person I expected to be starstruck with Linsanity, grabbed me by both shoulders and demanded quite seriously, “TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT JEREMY LIN.” My parents emailed my brother and me a YouTube video of a Jeremy Lin interview, then later giggled on the phone as they confessed they’ve been diligently watching his highlight reels, and had I watched the YouTube they sent yet?! “He’s amazing!” they chortled. My guy friends refer to Jeremy as “my boy,” while it seems every other girl is expressing her wish to date Jeremy. But I don’t need to tell you these stories; you and I are just as caught up in it all.

But through my own willing participation in the Linsanity, I became aware of how shallow our fixation thus far has been. We – both the media and individuals – seem to endlessly reiterate the same few basic facts we know about Jeremy: He’s Christian! He’s Asian-American! He went to Harvard! ...and repeat, with some tantalizing embellishment or another thrown in with reference to Tim Tebow or Kim Kardashian, as the case may be.

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