Taiwanese-American Basketball Hero Creates ‘Linsanity’

26 February 2012

Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers (15) pressures New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin (17) during a recent game in Miami, Florida

FAITH LAPIDUS:Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

BOB DOUGHTY: And I'm Bob Doughty. This week on our program: "Linsanity" -- why people in Taiwan are going crazy for a basketball player in New York. Also, we hear about a Cambodian-American singer and her first album. And we visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Alabama.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: In recent weeks, Jeremy Lin has gotten a lot of attention for his performance as a point guard in the National Basketball Association.

Fans in the United States are not the only ones who have cheered his surprising success. Jeremy Lin was born in the United States but his parents came from Taiwan.

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BOB DOUGHTY: On a recent day, people at a Taipei sports bar cheered as they watched Jeremy Lin make a three-point shot. It won the game for the New York Knicks.

The Knicks added him to their starting lineup earlier this month. He began averaging more than twenty points a game and leading the team to a rare series of wins.

Jeremy Lin is twenty-three years old and 1.9 meters tall. A Christian, he says his belief in God has been a big part of his success.