http://www.nba.com/2009/allstar2009/01/22/allstar_final.allstar09.20090122/index.html I remember that year, it was funny because Bruce Bowen got over 1.3 milion All-star votes in 2009 as well, destroying Ron Artest, Carmelo Anthony, and Pau Gasol and finished 3rd behind Amare and Tim Duncan. His average was 2.7 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and .4 SPG. I've always wondered where all those votes came from, especially since Bruce was known as a dirty player.
Although Lin's parents are from Taiwan, he still has a connection with China through his grandparents. He's stated this several times, and he's an American born of Han Chinese descent (no I'm not saying he's a Chinese national), which I think plays a significant role. I don't think he's getting full support from China, but he's probably getting support from Asian-Americans, Taiwan, those who like an underdog story (which transcends race). But consider all the areas in Asia with a large population of ethnic Han Chinese. Singapore, Philippines, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc which were all said to have had Lin on one of the top athlete searches. A little bit of everything probably is helping Jeremy. http://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/2012-psy-j-lin-define-asian-zeitgeist-according-google
Also remember Lin went on the Asia tour visiting mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong in the summer. He probably picked up more fans by all his media and television appearances. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/f20R5Uxx3EQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I'm expecting Lin to eventually visit the Philippines someday as well. Also the fact that he speaks English fluently and is a devout Christian probably enhances his appeal. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/02/16/12/linsanity-hits-filipino-netizens
Regarding what he overcome during his basketball career, if he's not Chinese descent, he would have be given a scholarship back to his college days after winning player of the California state. He may possibly be drafted just with the college stat, leading Harvard to best record for years, or even the athleticism(better then D.Rose/J.Wall/K.Irving) in some speed tests. He was gifted with his talents, court vision together with humbleness, work ethics, attitude but he was never being seriously considered as a prospect or a potential nba rotation player. Till possibly the last day of his nba dream, no matter what he achieved later on, even the popularity among the globe, I think he did the best and the God did the rest. Nobody can judge whether he deserved it or not, not you and me at least. But I guess, how much love he's gaining through his life also represents how much hate he's coming through. Most polarizing player in the NBA? Probably. You need to pay whatever you gained. Our team is going to be hated by other 29 teams in the NBA with their fans too. They don't even care us right now, but soon, they hate to see us rise again. It's humanity.
Don't understand why people on this board do not want to handle Lin's popularity. If you check 2012 Zeigeist, Jeremy Lin is the the most searched athlete, and 7th most searched people in year 2012 on google. http://www.google.com/zeitgeist/2012/#the-world And interesting thing is, if you limit that to united states, Jeremy Lin jumped to the second in the list of 'people' and is the 5th in the list of all searches. http://www.google.com/zeitgeist/2012/#united-states/overall ASG starter is selected by popularity, and if you don't like it, too bad, that is the rule, you should blame the league if they set up a rule that you do not agree with, but don't blame those Fans who is following the rule and voting for their loved player. smh, never see so much hate of so called "rocket fans who love the team" against their own player, and can't stand their own player has a big fan base, try to discriminate certain player fans by their join date, and even try to qualify voters genetically. Thank god most people here not like that, just surprised however, those posts were taken as norm and yet blame people who felt offended by those posts being "too sensitive".
Why do people call it hate? It's just an opinion that Lin doesn't deserve the all star game or feel that it's going to harm him more than do him good.
Haters For many Asian Americans like myself. JLin represents the rosa parks of the NBA. When he first got to the Knicks, the security guards wouldn't let him in. Cause he didn't "look" like a player. In many ways sports is a reflection of society. Civil liberties is the at the core of the USA, an important trait that differentiates us from every other country. It's what's makes this country great. . And people like JLin shakes perceptions, beliefs. Like obama becoming the first black president. Change is good. Change is necessary. Change requires people to take a step back and re-evaluate their beliefs. Don't be a hater. Black, white, yellow, blue. It doesn't matter what color your skin is. What matters is your heart, conviction, ability and talent. The only role model many Asians have is "William hung of American idol". Let's move forward people. Without rosa parks, we would still have segregation. Stop throwing eggs at jLin. Ask anyone during linsanity last year if he should be an all star. YES. If you want performance, Put Duncan before Kobe. JLin is not just popular. He's got game. And a story that transcends the NBA.
This. Also, doesn't anyone remember that little boy who cried when Lin got traded from the Knicks? I'll bet his family is voting for Lin. And I'm pretty sure they're not asian!! Boy cries http://youtu.be/yAcK6qG3CEs Lin skypes with him http://youtu.be/T0Yu-TiYmL4 Seriously, Americans also love Jeremy Lin. They want to see him in the ASG, even if the few of you feel embarrassed about it. And don't diminish their intelligence or their voting rights simply because you don't agree with it. That's just mean and undemocratic to boot!
Define "deserve" please. If the ASB select starters by fan votes, then who ever got the most votes deserve to start. If the ASB select by stats, then highest scorer deserve to start. And my understanding is that all candidates on the ASB list deserve to start, if the do not deserve, they will not appear on the list. d So I think your opinion is biased, and I could not understand why you wish your team player not be voted into all star, and worry that is going to harm Lin, like he is not having a target on his back right now, even he is not an all star yet. Even Lin is not voted into AS, or he give it up, the target on his back will not disappear anyway, so why bother...
If you guys don't want to see Lin in the All Star game, then don't vote for Omer Asik or Chandler Parsons as well. What's the point of voting if you complain when your players end up winning a spot? What kind of support is that? What kind of Rocket fan are you? Or is this just another way to bash the Lin fans? Some of you CF's make me sick.
why do people think that china is the main reason lin got all these votes? wouldnt he be getting like what? 1billion votes by now?
Well, in my opinion, the fact that the vote deadline is in the middle of Jan, which is only half way of the season, and the recommendation list was suggested more than a month ago which is in the beginning of the season, means that it is not valid to define "deserve" by this season's number only. If the starters are selected by fan vote, then that's it, the most voted player deserve to start. I agree with you that Lin is not yet in the same caliper as CP3 or Kobe, or Harden, but the capability of Lin to attract that much fan does distinguished him from other All-Star candidates. I would think NBA first team or second team is a better honoring system for best players, not AS.
Yes, if China was the main reason his votes would probably put him second to Kobe in the total votes.
exactly. What's the point of promoting your team players to get voted for the All star game, and then worry that they should not be voted in. I'm wondering how any other team who is not in LA promote all star votes for WC guards, why bother to promote their own players since they would not deserve to start in front of CP3 and Kobe anyway.
