So a young kid plays basketball while at Harvard, goes undrafted, gets dropped by two NBA teams, kicks around for a while, bums couches to sleep on in New York, ends up playing for the New York Knicks…and becomes a sensation.

Jeremy Lin has captured the imagination of New York–and indeed the country–with his heroic action on the court: 5 straight wins, including a 38 point game against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

“Linsanity” has gripped the Big Apple. You can’t even get a Lin #17 shirt in this town. At last, the Knicks don’t suck. Everyone wants to go to the games and see this Star-is-Born kid knock the socks off even the most veteran players.

This story is so fantastic on so many levels: an young player comes out of nowhere, plays on the biggest stage and doesn’t just rise to the occasion but MAKES the occasion. He has pulled his team together in ways even they didn’t expect. I attended a Knicks game shortly before he joined the team. Some of the star players, like Carmelo Anthony, were on the bench with injuries. The team wasn’t winning, and they seemed to lack energy and spirit. Lin has restored that–and more. Yes, he’s helping to lead the Knicks to victories. But he’s also got them functioning as a team that actually now looks like it’s having fun out there. Lin congratulates his fellow teammates and they, him. They are working together and making each other better players as a result. When the star players rejoin the team, they’ll have the benefit of Lin’s talents—and they’ll step up their games to match him. That’s the beauty of good teamwork. Lin is also a good kid: his parents raised him right and brought him to church every Sunday. He never hesitates to thank and praise God.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before another athlete—perhaps jealous of all the success and attention Lin is getting—took a swipe at him. Boxer Floyd Mayweather tweeted that yeah, he’s a good player and all, “but all the hype is because he’s Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.”

Actually, Floyd, players of any race who perform spectacularly get big praise..and big money and contracts and endorsements and fan adulation. As time passes, some of that falls away. The reason Lin is a sensation is because he’s GOOD. Not because he’s Asian. He’s also brand-new, and people love the latest and greatest. You see, Floyd, in America, we don’t break things down by race or any other group. Liberals do that, but the rest of us don’t engage in “identity politics” or “identity sports.” We let talent and hard work do the talking, and this society rewards anybody who rises to the top because of them. You, Floyd, obviously luxuriate in “identity politics,” and that’s pathetic. Let your performance in the ring speak for you from now on because you’ve just shown yourself to be a bit of a racist.

As for Lin: what a lovely surprise for the Knicks, basketball fans, and all Americans. He is showing that the American dream is alive and well. Go get ‘em, Jeremy. We’re all Lin-Maniacs now!

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