Jeremy Lin's meteoric stardom and positive attitude towards the game and his team not only are great for basketball, a major stereotype-buster (e.g. academic nerd, foreigner, can't speak English), and an inspiration to many Asian Americans, but also a wonderful role model for ALL of us, regardless of race/ethnicity.
However long the Cinderella story lasts on the courts is less important than how Lin has reminded me--and demonstrated in a mere week--what it is to be American and one exciting example of the hope, pursuit and the realization of the American Dream!
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Lin's story has become especially appealing to Asian basketball players, who say his success is an inspiration. "Jeremy is my size and from America. We can identify with him."
"He speaks like us. He's heard all of the same stereotypes we've heard," said Darren Liu, 25, a 25-year-old Asian-Canadian from Ontario, a former high school basketball player. "To see a guy go through all those things, to get cut by teams, it's something we can look up to and be proud of."
