Rude For Thought: Jeremy Lin

It is reported that NBA hopeful Jeremy Lin of Palo Alto is close to signing a deal with the Golden State Warriors. Who is Jeremy Lin you ask? Well, at 6-3, 200 lbs, Lin is on the verge of becoming the first ASIAN-AMERICAN to make it to the NBA. No. Yao Ming, Ji Yianlian, Wang Zhizhi, Yatu Tabuse (do you even know any of these guys besides Yao Ming?) don't count.

Lin led Palo Alto High School to the CIF Division II State Title in 2006 (Class of 06'!). But, despite his many achievements including being named first-team All-State and Northern California Division II Player of the Year, he did not garner much attention from Division I schools; including local schools like Berkeley and Stanford, or the rest of the Pac-10. It came down to Harvard and Brown University and Lin chose Harvard where he found great success having big games against big named schools like UCONN.

Yeah, I'm doing this post because I can't help but feel happy that an Asian-American finally made it to the league. I, myself being Chinese-American (like Lin), knows the limitations and stereotypes that American society places on Asian Americans. I try really hard to focus on the fact that human beings are the same species and that in hindsight the differences between humans are minimal. But, one of those minimals are the mind and it's the ideas and morals that make us different and can cause conflict or unity. So, when Lin enters his first NBA game, I'll have to accept that some people might make fun of him because he's Chinese (most forgetting that he's American). But, those same people will have to accept the fact that I'll be rooting the hell out of Lin. Heck, my first ever Warriors jersey might be a Lin jersey (pathetic I know).

So here's to Jeremy Lin. Go get'm kid...

-D_Rude
Get Gooder

EDIT: Unfortunately I do not know my own history! The first Asian American player came in the form of Wat Misaka in 1947 who was drafted in the first round by the New York Knicks. Not only was he the first Asian American player in the NBA, he was the first COLORED person to play! WOOOOOW! (My source: http://www.startribune.com/yourvoices/98959829.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUKcOy9cP3DieyckcUsI)But, Jeremy Lin is still the first CHINESE-American to play in the NBA!!