RIO-SIDE


Sports fans love comparisons. We do them all the time. Kobe or LeBron? Yankees or Red Sox? Frazier or Ali? In the midst of all the excitement of the past few weeks, we can add a new one to the list. Linsanity or Tebow Mania?

Two of the biggest sports stories of the past year have involved incredible runs by interesting characters. So which one is more intriguing? Which one is more annoying? Which one truly deserves our undivided attention?

To start off, let me just congratulate Jeremy Lin. His story is one of true perseverance and it deserves our respect. The man slept on a couch before he got his start with the Knicks. He simply did the most with the little he had.

Having said that, I have to admit that Linsanity is getting dangerously close to becoming as annoying as Tebow Mania. Think about it. It’s all over the news. Every one is talking about it. It’s in your face even if you don’t care about it. It’s even made its way to SNL now. It just won’t stop.

But there is one aspect of the story that keeps it from becoming as irritating as Tebow Mania. The difference is that Lin actually plays well.

Here is a guy who has averaged 25 points and nine assists in his first nine starts. He led the Knicks to a seven-game winning streak and put them in contention for a championship.

Tebow, on the other hand, was just awful. He was one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL and he somehow found a way give his team victories. In all fairness, Matt Prater, the Broncos’ kicker, is the one who deserves more recognition for he was the one who gave his team the wins.

Lin has been one of the NBA’s best players in the past few weeks. He has earned people’s respect. Despite the fact that I’m not the biggest Lin fan in the world (because he beat my Lakers), I must admit that I would rather be hearing his story than watching Tebow and his undeserved recognition. Linsanity, in my humble opinion, is undoubtedly and unequivocally the better story.