The Wikipedia page is very scarce, on the other hand most of the fable has yet to be written. But him, Jeremy Lin, rising star of the NBA with the number 17 jersey of the New York Knicks, is already an idol on social networks. His fanpage on Facebook already boasts half a million followers, while his profile on Twitter is followed by over 200 followers. And the opening of the website on Monday morning is even dedicated to the new, slant-eyed but true American talent by the finance department Bloomberg: "Jeremy Lin Takes Knicks Merchandising to Record Highs." They didn't expect it either, the New York Knicks, who thus had to hurriedly print thousands of jerseys with the number 17 to satisfy the sudden wave of fans.
“Just a week ago he was a simple Knicks substitute – still writes the astonished Bloomberg – but by leading the team to five consecutive victories in 8 days he has become the symbol. Since February 4, when he started dazzling fans across the NBA, his jersey is the best-selling online and Knicks merchandise has shot up to number one among all the franchises, despite a disappointing season so far".
But that's not all. The Lin effect is also noticeable at the box office. According to TiqIQ, an online ticket resale market aggregator, the average price to attend a home game at Madison Square Garden has risen 20% in just six days. "For the next game, scheduled for February 15 against the Sacramento Kings - explains Chris Matcovich of TiqlQ - a ticket will cost an average of 190 dollars, up 26% compared to a week ago".
The modern sample par excellence, therefore: idol on the net and marketing phenomenon even before being a champion in the field. Not that he hasn't demonstrated it on the field, quite the contrary. Even on that side, the numbers are impressive and remove the specter of a commercial bluff. Against the Utah Jazz Jeremy Lin scored 28 points and distributed 8 assists, the first player in history since the great Isiah Thomas in 1981 to reach such a score in his debut. Soon after, he made 23 more against the Washington Wizards, before eclipsing 5-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant with 38 points (plus 7 assists) in a win over the Lakers on Feb. 10. According to Elias Sports Bureau statistics, no other player in NBA history has scored at least 20 points and dished out at least seven assists in his first four games as a starter. And this also benefits the team, which now wins, has fun, and is back in the running for the playoffs.
So here is the new phenomenon of the most followed basketball championship in the world: he has the oriental features of the son of a Taiwanese emigrant – who is an engineer in Silicon Valley by trade -, but the passport is more US than ever, he who is also a Harvard graduate, symbol of prestige and excellence with stars and stripes. “The Lin era was born”, many basketball experts from overseas and Europe already say. To seal this thesis there is also the nickname of the new star: yellow mamba, which replaces that black mamba, Kobe Bryant, who is perhaps about to give way to the advantage of this great little point guard who drives fans and opponents crazy. From the black mamba to the yellow mamba, then. With the handover already carried out in the aforementioned Knicks-Lakers match, when Kobe helplessly witnessed the exploit of the 23-year-old of Asian origins.
Origins that mark another epochal turning point: from Yao Ming onwards, no one had ignited so much the enthusiasm of the (very strong) Asian community present in the United States. And this time the hero is even homemade, with all the clichés of the case: born in America (in Palo Alto, California), model student at Harvard, prize-winning talent from the field. Meet Jeremy Lin, symbol of integration and global sport.
