Jeremy Lin: Asian American Role Model

Last night, at the Leavey Center on the campus of Santa Clara University, a throng of 4,700 fans showed up to watch the basketball game between the Harvard Crimson and the Santa Clara Broncos. The game was a sell out and the largest crowd ever to watch a Santa Clara non-conference basketball game.

While there was a solid throng of Santa Clara students, cheerleaders and band members there, one can safely say that the majority of the other people in attendance were there to watch one person: JEREMY LIN of Harvard.

The 6'3" guard from Palo Alto made what is likely to be his final home appearance in a collegiate uniform. Besides his family, a huge throng of Asian Americans made their way to Santa Clara to watch the best Asian-American college basketball player play.

However, expectations of Lin may have been a little too high. Santa Clara focused their defense on stopping him. Lin did not try to score much throughout the night and finished with 6 points (2-5 FG, 0-2 3PG, 2-5 FT), 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 4 turnovers. Lin played like he usually does and contributed in every single category. However, after huge scoring games against good competition, the 6 points may have been a let down for the crowd.

The game itself wasn't that great. Both Harvard and Santa Clara struggled in the first half. Both teams went through a scoring drought of 5+ minutes which left the crowd restless. The good news was that Harvard played better in the second half and eventually won the game 74-66. Lin seems like a low key kid and his own personal statistics don't matter to him much as long as his team wins. At 11-3, Harvard is doing well and will begin their Ivy League season in a few days.

Looking past the game itself, I'm very proud that Asian-Americans came out in large numbers to support Jeremy Lin. This fact was noted by many media outlets both local and national. Jeremy Lin, whether he likes it or not, is now a role model to many young Asian-American athletes.

Whether the industry is movies, TV, music, athletics or otherwise, Asian-Americans have had minimal role models to emulate in the past. There have always been foreign born Asians like Yao Ming (basketball) or Jackie Chan (movies). While having some Asians are better than nothing, people like Yao and Jackie Chan do not understand the challenges of growing up Asian in America.

However, I feel like this is the calm before the storm. Jeremy Lin has suddenly stormed into the public spotlight in college basketball. John Cho has gained exposure in movies and TV with Harold & Kumar, Flash Forward and Star Trek. Far East Movement, an Asian-American hip-hop band, garnered national exposure in 2009 with their hit song "Girls On The Dance Floor".

All the people above have given Asian-Americans a slice of the positive representation we've always yearned for and role models in which to emulate. This bodes well for the future as young Asian-American kids grow up. They may decide to be an athlete, actor or a musician all because of Jeremy Lin, John Cho and Far East Movement.

No matter what happens to Jeremy Lin in the future, he has left a legacy for others to follow his footsteps in the future. All one has to do is not be afraid to take those steps. In time, I would hope that it is no surprise that Asian-Americans do well in sports, movies, TV, and music.