So the last time I wrote, I compared the New England Patriots and New York Giants to Star Wars characters, and made a prediction that went according to plan with Eli Manning being on the top of the world and ending the Patriots dynasty. Well now that football season is over but only 6 months away (already counting). I will be moving on to the NBA for a while and this first piece will be about the NBA player that everyone is talking about, the one that blows up twitter every other day and just has a knack for breaking records every time he steps on the court. It is not Kobe or LeBron, heck it’s not even a Blake Griffin posturizing dunk. It’s JEREMY LIN! The undrafted point guard out of Ball So Hard University!... I mean Harvard University.
If you do not know who Jeremy Lin and all he does is “Lin, Lin, Lin” is? Then let me tell you who is by comparing him to another well-known athlete. Mr. Tim Teboooww! Why Tim Tebow? Both Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow are very much alike and I know they are very much different too, as in we can all admire how Lin shoots and passes the ball and say “How did he do that?” but with Tebow we say “How did he miss that throw?” I know, I know but we’re only focusing on the similar styles because they both have brought so much attention to themselves in a positive and linspiration way.
First we focus on what Tebow and Lin did during their High School playing days. Tebow was an All-State quarterback who led the Nease Panthers to a state title and was named Florida’s Player of the Year in his senior year. Jeremy Lin also led his high school to a state title in his senior year going 32-1. He was also named first-team All-State and Northern California Division II Player of the Year.
Then we focus on college and see that Tim Tebow got attention right away in his first year at Florida, winning the national championship title as the backup quarterback but having a big influence on the game, by scoring two touchdowns. The following year Tebow was named the starting quarterback and went on to win another national title. Jeremy Lin also did not get his starting role until his sophomore year. Both players broke school records and took their programs to higher grounds before they graduated.
Now we look at their professional careers. Tebow was drafted in the 1st round by the Denver Broncos but not before his hometown team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, passed up on him. Tebow went on to start the last three games of his rookie year. Jeremy Lin was NOT drafted but was signed by his hometown team, the Golden State Warriors, playing in the D-League for all of his rookie year.
The following year this is where it starts to get very similar. Both the NFL and NBA were in lockout years in 2011, which put the two sports in jeopardy of losing an entire season. Fans were losing hope with every negotiating meeting being stalled with millionaires fighting with billionaires over who got more money. Eventually the NFL came back without missing any games while the NBA lost 16 games but made a compressing schedule that has made everyday fun to watch. But both leagues did not want the storyline of their season to be about the lockout. This is where the best part of sports happens, an athlete coming from deep in the bench getting a chance to show what he’s got and making it count.
Tebow’s second offseason was with a new head coach (John Fox), who demoted Tim to fourth string quarterback and naming Kyle Orton the starting QB. Tebow received heavy criticism from NFL analysts who said he could not be a full time quarterback in the NFL because of his throwing motion and bad accuracy. Even the Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Borncos (John Elway) did not believe Tim Tebow is the franchise quarterback for the team (Still doesn’t). Jeremy’s second offseason was a little bit worse because no one believed in him. NBA analyst did not even know who he was. Lin was released by the Warriors (to save money) and later waived by the Houston Rockets. The New York Knicks ended up picking him up only because they were dealing with injury at the point guard position. Both the Broncos and Knicks got off to disappointing starts to the regular season with Denver going 1-3 and the Knicks going 8-15. Then after the Broncos were trailing the San Diego Chargers, Fox put in Tebow who almost orchestrated a comeback and giving a spark of energy to the offense. Jeremy Lin got his opportunity when the Knicks were also struggling to generate offense, he came in off the bench to score 25 points and dish out 7 assists against the New Jersey Nets.
This is where change starts to happen and both these players proved the chance to show what they have. Tebow was announced the starter when the Broncos had their bye week and Lin was put in the lineup after his surprising game. Tebow went on to win 7 of his 8 starts while making miracle comebacks in the 4th quarter, making headlines every single game, taking the Broncos back into the playoffs and even having two signature sayings (Tebow Time and Tebowing). Lin is currently undefeated as a starter (6-0); breaking records with each game, shooting game winners and most importantly making Madison Square Garden feel alive once again. Jeremy Lin has also had many words made up for him such as; Linsanity, Linsperation, Lincredible etc… FYI, I’m predicting the New York Knicks make it past the first round of the playoffs (as the Broncos did) but fall in the second round (as the Broncos did).
What make these two athletes more accomplished are their personalities when they are not playing. Both Tebow and Lin are humble players who do not take anything for granted. They thank God first and you’ll never hear a wrong word coming out of their mouth, instead you hear gracious gratitude that they’ll work better every day to try and achieve. We’ll take these two quotes for example:
“You’ve got to worry about the next play…Keep believing because people aren’t always going to like you but you have to believe in the people around you…You’re going to get knocked down but it’s how many times you get back up.”
“I'm not too worried about proving anything to anybody. As a team we're growing and trying to build on the momentum."
You wouldn’t know who said who in these quotes because both Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow have the same personalities, always striving to get better, thinking and always giving credit to the team and not to themselves. The NBA and NFL have struck gold with these two players because people are no longer thinking of the offseason lockout. They are thinking of these two role models who never give up. This is what makes them the same and I’m pretty sure Kim Kardashian has them on speed dial.
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