All This Jeremy Lin Love Is Pissing The Shit Out Of Buzz Bissinger

Well, it had to happen, didn't it? In this day and age of instant analysis and constant coverage, overkill is only a long weekend away for most stories. Jeremy Lin captivated the hearts and minds of New Yorkers and sports fans everywhere one week, and the next, Buzz Bissinger is comparing him unfavorably to John Starks. He's not entirely wrong, but in asking people to calm down and put things in perspective, Buzz blows the hype way, way out of proportion.

Bissinger rails against Linsanity and the Linatics who now worship him because "four games do not a brilliant career make." To hear Buzz tell it, every single person across the country is lining up for a Jeremy Lin jersey as they set fire to Jordan jerseys and demand that Wilt Chamberlain be kicked out of the Hall of Fame.

Better than Michael Jordan? Of course. Better than Wilt and Kobe and Shaq and LeBron? They shouldn't even be playing on the same court with Sir Lincelot.

Obviously not a single, intelligent person with a working brain has gone that Linsane, but nevertheless Buzz thinks it's a problem with our culture and it needs to stop. The reason for this perceived insanity sweeping the nation is that Jeremy Lin is not black and not European with a "thick foreign accent." Buzz really said that, and a lot of other wacky things. This is Buzz in his element, and this is what is wrong with the "culture in which we are stuffing ourselves to death." It's just another sports commentator missing the actual picture while looking for the bigger one.

Jeremy Lin is a popular and exciting story for exactly one reason: he is an underdog. He did not come from a traditionally big time college basketball program. He was not drafted. He was released by two teams, bounced around the D-League and was almost released by the Knicks before catching lightning in a bottle. These qualities endear him to fans who will always pull for David rather than Goliath. It is almost an innate reaction and one of the best things about sports. It doesn't have to be about race or because "his Christian beliefs and prayer penchant, echoes much of white America."

And maybe Buzz is right and Lin will be a flash in the pan and amount to nothing more than a week-long footnote in a strike-shortened season, but four games do not an epitaph make, either.

Jeremy Lin Already a Legend? Reality-Checking the Hype [Daily Beast]