PARDON THE LINTERRUPTION
By Mohan Karulkar: I'm not much of a basketball fan. Haven't been since Bulls/Sonics in '96. Seriously.
But, being the news junkie that I am, Linsanity has been hard to miss. And being a person of second chances, Jeremy Lin's story has been hard to beat. Undrafted out of Harvard. Cut from the Warriors and Rockets. Sent to the D-league by the Knicks. Sleeping on a couch. In a van down by the river.
Then, moved back to the Knicks out of desperation, and rest is history. Averaging 23.9 points and 9.2 assists over his first 11 games in the Knicks' rotation. Outscoring Kobe. Sinking crazy baskets. And showing humility the whole way. A class act.
Talk about the perfect second-chance story.
But last night, the Knicks faced the red-hot Miami Heat, and Linsanity came to a hard stop. Lin walked away 1-11 from the field, with just 8 points and 3 assists on the night. I have to say, as an outsider Lin fan, I was a little disappointed.
And the naysayers might be having a field day today, but I think Lin's own comments on the night speak volumes:
"I'm not going to hang my head or anything like that," Lin said. "I know I went out there and I played hard. Can't win `em all. Can't have a great game every game. But at the same time, I need to understand, `OK, what'd I do wrong? How can I improve?' I think that's going to be exciting."
You see, what inspires the world isn't just class on top; but class all the way through. If you want your second chance to count for all it should, see it through to the end. And if it doesn't work out, learn from it, and get back up. Don't hang your head, and don't throw in the towel.
You might have thought you were alone, but you've got a whole team by your side now. We believe in you, and it's time you sparked a little Linsanity of your own.