Streaks and Geeks

We'd like to plead temporary Linsanity, regarding our Linfautation with a certain sofa-surfing, stereotype-shattering, country-captivating Asian-American basketball player. In February, perhaps longing for love and layups, we were crushing on him* (when you don't guard your heart, a guard can find your heart); in March, opponents are crushing him and his club. Faster than a New York minute, the Knicks have come crashing down like stuntmen in Spiderman on Broadway. The Knick's road trip has turned into a road tumble, losing four straight games. They haven't won since Leap Day and need to be jump-started again. At this point, the Knicks are in full Wilson Phillips mode - trying their hardest to just "Hold On" to the last playoff spot in the East.

Linsanity was Linfectious and we were swept up - or at least Swiffered up - in the fun and puns^ of the story. We committed Linfidelity; annulling our relationship with our hometown team and ardently adopting another in the metropolis we once lived in. The city never sleeps, so it was fitting that New York was the first place to not sleep on Lin. Still, he snuck up on us stealthily, like a Linja. We wanted a Tim Tebow to call our own in the NBA (sadly, our gesture of Linbo-ing never caught on). We loved that the only bank this Harvard alum with a degree in economics was interested in making was a bank shot. The comparisons to Steve Nash are apt, in that Lin's defense is Linadequate, although he does have active hands and steals as well as a professional pickpocket. Rajon Rondo had what Ice Cube would describe as "a good day" against him, messing around and getting a triple-double, while Tony Parker was magnifique, scoring 32 points. The competition now has the CliffsNotes on half of the bookish backcourt, that's why Lin is being "lit" up. That's not to suggest Lin deserves the lion's share of the blame, since it seems the Knicks players have something in common with those on Saturday Night Live: they're not ready for prime-time. That's Linauspicious because the last thing the league desires is for the Knicks to revert to being Linsignifcant.


*Sports Illustrated did send the first issue with Lin on the cover and the annual swimsuit edition out simultaneously. Talk about boom and bust.
^Admittedly, we over-Lindulged in the wordplay.