I went to my local watering hole yesterday after work to enjoy a few sophisticated beverages before I attended the Orlando Magic game, and the barkeep tuned the image box to SportsCenter, which devoted about 70% of the show to New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin. A few dozen Linsanity puns later and my enjoyment of the rise of this unexpected Knicks star was pretty much over. But the Knicks, Buddha bless them, are rightfully milking this thing for all it’s worth, as they’ve radically raised ticket prices and are pumping out merchandise faster than a sweatsh… irt company. A sweatshirt company is totally what I meant to write.
Of course it was inevitable that this love for a guy, who is Chinese but was born and raised in California before attending Harvard, would hit some awkward racial moments. However, what happened last night on the MSG Network during the Knicks 100-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings, in which Lin set a career high with 13 assists, was just downright stupid. During the broadcast, the network aired this picture…
I’ve got $20 that says a spokesperson from the network releases a statement something like: “Come on, we’re the MSG Network. We’re totally down with the Chinese!”
(Lin image via Larry Brown Sports; Original banner via Colin Riddle/Flickr.)
